Unwritten fate
by Sxphyre
Summary: On the same planet, in the same country, in the same city, there are two beings who long to see each other's faces, and wake up crying every night because they are missing something... and that's each other. Fights, drama... even suicide? How far will it be pushed before than can safely rest in each other's arms? A story of love, friendship, and hope.
1. Prolouge

**"Here I go, scream my lungs out and try to get to you... you are my only one, I let go, there's just no one that gets me like you do... You are my only, my only one..." -Only one, Yellowcard  
**

**_-Ib-Age 9-_ **

_What was I just doing?_

_Why am I here?_

_What's happening? _

The questions circle around my mind like snowflakes, dancing through the air. I opened my eyes, and there was a large mural in front of me. It covered about a whole wall, and there were strange pieces of art and black scribbles throughout the painting. I looked down at the nameplate, and touched the words. But I didn't know one of the words...

? World

The nameplate was smooth, and I lifted my head and looked around where I was. It was an art gallery, and there were many people observing works of art. I walked away from the piece I was supposedly observing before, and looked around.

? Seat

Death of the ?

Why didn't I know so many words? I hoped I could learn them soon so I could maybe understand the titles of art. I walked passed the exhibits and turned left. There was a staircase, and I descended it, wondering what was on the lower floor. On the lower floor was apparently the lobby, for there was a reception desk and another staircase. There were also many people walking around. I descended the next staircase, and there was a giant mural on the ground of a fish. I looked at it, and avoided the nameplate because there were so many people around. I looked at a few other paintings, and approached many crystal pillars that looked as if they were twinkling. I kept on walking, and it kind of felt as if I were looking for something. I walked forward, and noticed that there weren't as many people in this area. I then approached a tall man standing in front of something I couldn't see. I had to tilt my head back the slightest bit to see the top of his head, which was a light shade of violet. He was just standing there, observing. I was about to walk away until I saw a giant red rose. It was a sculpture, and there was a big rose. It was beautiful, and I wanted to look at this one, so I waited patiently behind his back a few feet away. After a few moments, the man turned around and blinked.

"Hm? What do you need, young lady?" he asked. I titled my head back to see his face better, for he had blue eyes that had a strange black-grey tint. His light violet hair covered his left eye, and I started to wonder if it was hard to see with one eye.

"Um, do you need anything?" he repeated, snapping me out of my observance.

"What's this statue?" I asked, looking past him and at the small part of the statue that could be seen. He looked behind him at the statue and moved to the side.

"Oh, this? It's called 'Embodiment of Spirit' apparently," he said. Hm, if only I knew what "Embodiment" meant.

"For some reason it gives me a feeling of sorrow..." he said, looking down to the floor. "I wonder why," his blue-grey eyes looked to the side, and he took a deep breath. His eyes made their way to me, just standing there and observing, and he straightened his back.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I had said anything to trouble you..." he said, quickly putting his hands in his pocket. I noticed his jacket was rather ragged, and went at most to his knees. His pants were a shade of beige, and before I could observe anything else he started to walk away.

"Well, um, bye," he said as he stopped, then continued walking away. I watched him walk and turned the corner. I blinked and looked down at the ground. That was weird. I looked back over at the beautiful sculpture of a bright red rose. There were some petals on the ground, and I resisted the temptation to touch them.

"Ib!" A voice said, and I turned to the right to see my mother walking over.

"I've been looking for you! Is this the piece your looking at?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Embodiment of Spirit..." she said, reading the plaque.

"Maybe this means in every person, there is a rose! Maybe you have a beautiful bright red one, you think?" she said, and I kept silent, looking at the sculpture. Then, I had a strange feeling after looking at it for a minute. My chest didn't feel heavy, but kind of hard, and breathing felt different. Then it became heavy, like my heart was dropping. I didn't like that feeling, as it was strange, and I'd never experienced it before. I turned away quickly, and Mom grabbed my hand.

"Ready to leave?" she asked, and I nodded. We walked passed the fish mural, and Dad joined us. Then we walked past the reception desk and out the museum doors. We walked over the large parking lot to our car, and we drove home. Simple as that... not an amazing museum experience.

**_-Garry- Age 21-_**

_What's going on? _

I opened my eyes and saw a large rose sculpture in front of me. I observed the vivid red color and the leaves, and questioned how heavy my chest felt. The feeling was peculiar, and I just stared at the sculpture. What was happening? I looked around, and down the hall was a big fish mural. Oh yes, I was in the Guertena art museum. I looked at my watch, but the hands were still. Since when did my watch not work? I stepped back to look at the sculpture from a distance and I heard footsteps behind me, and I turned around. There was a small girl with long, brown hair to about the middle of her back, and large crimson eyes that looked at me curiously.

"Hm? What do you need, young lady?" I asked politely, as to wondering how long she'd been there. She didn't answer, her eyes just moved a bit, but returned to looking at me. It felt like a piercing glance, and my chest just felt a bit heavier. I tried to shake the strange thoughts out of my head, and wondered if she didn't hear me or something.

"Um, do you need anything?" I repeated, but a bit louder.

"What's this statue?" she asked.

"Oh, this?" I said, moving out of the way so she could see, "It's called 'Embodiment of Spirit' apparently..." I looked back at the rose and felt my chest get heavy. I stared intently at the bright red rose petals, and words just spilled out of my mouth.

"For some reason it gives me a feeling of sorrow..." I said, not paying attention to who I was talking to. I blinked, and closed my eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I'd said anything to trouble you..." I said, and I felt like I was missing something important... Oh! My grandmother died a few days back... I had to catch her funeral. I stood up, and the girl was still there, looking at the statue with her large crimson eyes. They looked vaguely familiar though... I quickly shook that thought out of my head, and started to walk away.

"Well, um, bye..." I said, and kept going. They weren't familiar... they couldn't be, right? Maybe they were just... peculiar, that was it. I walked on around the corner, past the reception desk, and out the door. I quickly walked to my car and started it up. The chest-heavy feeling dissolved, and I was feeling better now. I opened the small compartment and took out the gps, then stuck it to the window. What was the address again? Didn't I enter it before I came...

**_-Ib- Age 9-_**

We arrived at home around 7:00, and I quickly kicked my shoes off and put my socks in the laundry basket. I trudged up the stairs to my room. I entered my room and took my book, then sat down on my bed and read. It wasn't until I had turned several pages I noticed my hands were going numb because they were so cold. Maybe that's why my bed shouldn't be next to an air vent. I shoved my hands in my pockets, trying to get them warm when I felt something crinkly. Confused, I grabbed it and took it out. My fingers were around a piece of lemon candy. I didn't remember getting this at the museum or before the museum, but particularly liked the lemon flavor. I didn't really want it now, for we went out to eat before the museum, but put it aside on my dresser. I continued reading, and Mom came up.

"Hi sweetie, how are you doing?" she asked, and I looked up.

"Fine," I said, looking back down. She looked around my neat room, and her wandering eyes met the candy.

"When did you get this?" she asked.

"I dunno. It was in my pocket though," I said.

"It could be poisonous! Who knows?" she said, taking it.

"Mom, what are the chances it could be poisonous?" I asked.

"They are very big for your information. Now, I'll take this..." she said and walked out of the room. Hm, maybe I should've eaten it. The hours flew by when I read through To Kill a Mockingbird. Reading has always been an escape for me. I am an observer, and when I read I can imagine how everything looks in my mind. The books describes thing for me, and some people even say I stare at stuff too much. No one really cares about how I feel, so why bother to tell? I just keep it in my head, like some people tell me to. So I end up talking to no one, and no one talks to me.

"You're still up?!" Mom exclaimed as she walked into the room, and I quickly marked my page and closed the book.

"It's 11:48 dear, go to bed. You'll wake up late for school tomorrow," she said and turned the light out. I grabbed my nightgown and changed quickly, then slid into bed. I kept my eyes open for as long as possible hoping it would make tomorrow come slower, but they eventually gave in.

**_-Garry- Age 21-_**

I got back to my small apartment and changed into a black suit and tie, and got ready for the funeral. I was never really that attached to my grandmother, so it wasn't too big for me. However, when my mother had found out she had had a stroke, she bursted into tears, which made me feel I had to go, to show I cared... somewhat. I was out the door and driving, and when I finally reached my destination, as soon as I opened the car door, my mother fell into my arms in tears.

"Garry..." she said, squeezing me tighter.

"She's really gone..." she said, wiping tears from her face.

"It's okay... she's probably in a better place now," I said, trying to comfort her. I was spaced out during most of the program, and couldn't help but think about that girl's piercing glance. She looked at me for a second, and it felt like a deer in headlights, kind of. Not to mention the familiarity... they were kind of strange, I guess. Nothing big. I looked up and they were reciting words and meanings, but I payed no heed. I awaited the end of the funeral, and when it came I wrapped my arms around my mother.

"It was hard to believe at first, I doubted she was dead..." Mother said, trying to get ahold of herself.

"Then, I went to her side, and took her hand..." she said, "Then I knew she was gone," It didn't feel right to see Mother crying...

"Just let it sink in for a few days... If I could help you, I would..." I said, afraid nothing I said would help. Anytime I try to comfort my mother, she always got more upset, so I didn't think trying would work. We went our separate ways, and I looked at the clock back at my apartment.

9:15

Goodness, funerals whizz by faster than I thought... I got into an old shorts and a tank top, then laid in bed. There was nothing better to do at this hour, and there was class tomorrow. It was then I reflected onto what happened at the funeral.

_What the heck just happened? _

I hadn't payed any attention at the funeral, and hadn't even assured my mother that Grandma would always be with her. Why was I being so emotionless? What was going on... Maybe I was tired. I laid in bed, hands behind my head, just thinking about what I could've done.

**_-Ib- Age 9-_**

I moaned as I trudged up the steps to elementary school. I walked over to the fourth grade hallway, and into my classroom.

"Good morning, Ib!" Miss Abell greeted me as I walked in. I ignored her and put my bag in a cubby, then sat down at my desk. On the top right of the desk was a rectangular piece of paper that had stars on it and was bright blue. There were a series of lines in the middle section, and neatly printed in the middle was my name: Ib Kouri. Beside the name tag, was a chart with a few stickers on it. Miss Abell said if we got enough stickers we could get a "Special surprise,". I had a few of them, more than anyone else, but really didn't care about this "surprise". I mean, it couldn't be big... a teacher wouldn't give a student something that big, would she?

"Now students, this is a speed quiz," she said, flapping a stack of papers in the air. "Don't flip it over until I tell you to, and do all the math problems as fast as you can. It's okay if you don't finish, but do your best," she started passing them out face down, and I got out my pencil. I never really liked math, but didn't fail it.

"Ready... set... flip!" she said, and I flipped my paper over, then started working on the many multiplication problems that littered the back of the paper. I worked as fast as I could without giving random guesses, and my hand started to get tired towards the end. I finished just in time.

"Stop!" Miss Abell said, and everyone abruptly slammed their pencils down on the desks. It was kind of annoying when people did that... they seemed to at the end of every speed quiz. I was kind of spaced out for the rest of class until recess. I was thinking about what happened to the lemon candy, and what my mom probably did to it. Throw it away, duh. Then, my mind wondered to the red rose sculpture and the man in front of it. I remembered his light lavender hair clearly, and some strands were a darker purple at the top. I recalled his torn coat, and blue grey eyes. I wondered what he did for a living, and I also wondered why my chest felt heavy at that rose sculpture. Hm, maybe I do wonder too much. I wonder why I wonder why.

My thoughts were erupted by the bell, which meant it was recess time. Kids jumped out of their seats and ran out, and I slowly followed them. During recess there was the whole fourth grade. I stood and leaned on a tree, just wondering and thinking.

I think it's cool how everyone you see has been through different things, and has had different experiences. In school, every kid is unique and has a different family, and has been through different things. Sometimes, at school I wonder what the teachers have been through. A lot? A little? And when I'm in a public place, there's a lot of people, and it's amazing how there are so many people, with unique traits and experiences. If I tried to explain this stuff to someone, they'd either laugh, or not understand. Soon, the bell rang and I began to think about the museum. Wonder what the people around the big fish painting have been through...

But what about the art? It might have a rough history or something. I liked to learn about stuff, but nothing boring like running or push ups, which is what most people liked. Not many people liked me for that reason.

"Are your eyes bleeding?" a boy a bit taller than me asked in horror. I was asked that question a lot, and it got annoying sometimes.

"No," I said blankly, and walked back to the door. I entered the classroom again, and my mind began to wander elsewhere. I didn't really get to see anything at the museum.. maybe I should go back there sometime... Maybe when I know more words. When I know more words, I can wonder why the title fits the artwork, maybe. I don't know about you, but wondering is somewhat entertaining and fun for me. I know it seems weird.

What was his life like? How old was he? I thought about 20 or something. He was a lot older then me though. Why did he stare so intently at the sculpture? Maybe some questions shouldn't be asked. Or maybe I asked too many questions... He was a stranger after all.

* * *

**How was it? Taking a stab at this. I mean, most of the fics I've read have them somehow get back together instantly, even after they've completely forgot everything... I don't know if that's likely or not, but here's what I'd think would happen. I probably will update at least once a week, and maybe more if I'm up to it. Looking forward to the real-life side of this fic, not just fantasy like most of my others. Leave a review for the next chapter sooner! Make sure to favorite and follow of you enjoyed!**


	2. Prologue II

**"Some things we don't talk about, rather do without... and just hold the smile... Falling, in and out of love, s****ame damn problem, together all the while..." **

-**The Fray, ****Never say Never****  
**

-Right after the Museum- Chapter 2-

**_-Garry- Age 21-_ **

I quickly hopped up the stairs to my first class, and sat down just in time.

"Hello, class. I hope you prepared well for your test over the weekend, and you have the whole class period," Uh oh. The teacher walked around and passed out the test, and I observed how many pages there were. Just as expected, there were about ten pages of functions, graphs, and trigonometry. At least this was the end of the quarter test... But summer was a while away... I started to work quickly through the math problems, and eventually my mind wandered elsewhere.

After class, I stopped by my apartment in observance of the half-hour break. I took out my laptop and typed quickly on few ideas that popped into my head, and sighed. This would add up to something, wouldn't it? I had writer's workshop next, and that involved two and a half hours of just hardcore writing, editing, and revising. One of my favorite classes. I checked the time on the laptop, and it was nearly time for class to start, so I quickly closed my laptop, put it in its case and went quickly to the building not too far away. I strolled down the block, humming a song and opened the large door. There were many students already sitting at desks, working diligently, and the teacher was at her own desk in the corner. I took a seat and looked at the board in which the writing topic was on.

"Write a love poem, using 'roses are red, violets are blue', but in a more detailed, complex, and beautiful way."

It read. I remembered it was valentines day, and everyone was buzzing with excitement. I opened up a new Word document and thought about it. Hm, I've never written a love poem before, so it's not like I would know... Maybe it was because flowers were beautiful, and it was kind of a comparison? I don't have a clue... I've never really liked a girl... I've admired, but never anything personal. I took a stab at it, letting anything come out.

_The deep blood red of a soft petal of a rose... _

I thought about making a simile or something, but I didn't really know what was red... hair? Then I thought of that girl at the gallery... her deep large red eyes. Was there anyone else with red eyes, I wonder? I made up a person in my mind to write about, and let it go.

_The deep crimson of a single rose,_

_could only represent a glance you take with your eyes,_

_glimmering in the light._

_The bright lucid blue of a violet,_

_Your imagination, your dreams, are tinted with a sapphire hue,_

_Your faithfulness and love is not worthy of a Violet,_

_It's not worthy of any other, _

_But the petals of a deep red rose._

I took a deep sigh, and deleted the whole thing. This was not going to work...

_The soft petals of a solitary rose,_

_is like your touch, _

I shook my head and hit the backspace immediately. Maybe I could describe someone in the room... I looked up from my laptop, and there was a girl with a tight ponytail and platinum blonde hair. However, I couldn't see her eyes from behind, so I looked to my right. There were guys in the class too, and to one side of the room was the girls, and the other was the boys. Today I happened to be smack dab in the middle, and girls were normally on the right, and guys on the left. To the right was a girl with wavy blonde hair just below her shoulder, and crystal blue eyes. I guess I could write about her.

_Roses are deep red,_

_red like the crimson fiery passion of my heart,_

_Golden locks spill around your shoulders,_

_Like a gold fountain._

_Violets are lucid blue,_

_Like your crystal blue eyes,_

_As deep as the ocean. _

I really had no idea if this was good or bad, because I've never received nor given a love poem... and before I could change anything or delete it all, the teacher spoke up.

"Everyone, done or not, please share your poem with the class, so you can be evaluated," she said. Startled, right before I could hit backspace, the teacher called my name abruptly.

"Garry? How about you share first?" she said, and I blinked. Nervously, I stood up in front of the rest of the class and wondered if I should just make something up, but couldn't think of anything. I cleared my throat, and put my laptop down on the table.

"Roses are deep red, red like the crimson fiery passion of my heart... Golden locks spill around your shoulders, like a gold fountain. Violets are lucid blue, like your crystal blue eyes, as deep as the ocean." I said, trying to be confident. Surprisingly, I looked up, and everyone seemed neutral. There was no whispering, and everyone's eyes were either staring blankly at me, or at their laptops.

"Very good, Garry. Please go back to your seat," the teacher said, and I walked over and sat down.

"Michelle?" the teacher said, and a girl next to me stood up and walked to the front.

"Roses are red, violets are blue, love never crossed my mind, until I met you!" she squealed, and the teacher scribbled stuff down.

"It could've been much more descriptive, Michelle," she said.

"John?" she said, and John went up nervously.

"The deep red of a rose, is my heart, falling for you," he said quietly, hiding part of his face with his laptop.

"Your chocolate brown hair is as soft as rose petals. Violets are bright cyan, like your soft emotions of love for me..." he said, trailing off.

"Nice job, please sit back down," she said. I put my head down on my desk, all the poems going in through one ear, and out the other.

**_-Ib- Age 9-_ **

We went back into the classroom, and the teacher passed out a few boxes, and smiled at us.

"It's valentines day! You get to give out your valentines now," she said. Valentines? What valentines? People got up from their desks and started to pass out small cards, which I didn't have. Valentines day was the day of love, right? But shouldn't you love every day... not just one day? People passed by my desk and put cards into the box sitting on top of my nametag. I looked up at them, and most of them were happy and smiling. When everyone sat down, Miss Abell came around and placed an envelope on each of our desks.

"Students, you can dig into your treats!" she said, and everyone opened their box and started hogging candy into their mouths. I opened mine slowly, and there were a few cards, and I looked around at other boxes, and they were stuffed with candy and cards. I couldn't help but feel a little left out, but opened Miss Abell's card first. I ripped open the envelope, and took out the card.

_Roses are red,_

_Violets are blue,_

_Sugar is sweet,_

_So are you! _

I stared at the corny card, and turned it over to see a hand written message.

_Ib you are smart,_

_and have a future ahead of you!_

_Keep learning!_

_-Miss Abell _

I closed the card, and knew that's what she put on every card. Teachers never cared about students, they just tried to make them happy so their parents wouldn't get mad at them. I peered into my box, and took out a small card with a small lollipop.

_Have a dynamic valentines day! _

It said in print, and there was a picture of a small cartoon character, and a scrabbly name written out on the bottom. I took the lollipop and unwrapped it, then sucked on it. A sweet lemon flavor went through my mouth, and I began to wonder how the lemon candy would've tasted like if Mom didn't take it away. Maybe it was soft, or it was hard. I got a little thirsty, so I got up and went to the teacher.

"Oh, what is it Ib?" Miss Abell said, looking up.

"Can I get a drink?" I asked, and she smiled and nodded. I left the room silently, making my way to the bathrooms and the drinking fountain. I took a quick drink, and heard sobbing. I followed the noise, and it was in the girls bathroom. What was going on... and did I want to get involved? I walked in quietly, and I saw legs under the door to one of the bathroom stalls. Without warning, the door swung open quickly, almost hitting me in the face.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" A girl with blue eyes and strawberry blonde pigtails screamed. I didn't move, and blinked.

"You should be in class. Why are you here," I said, staring past her.

"What are you, the teacher or something?" she sneered.

"Why were you crying," I said, and it was more like a statement than a question.

"That's none of your business! Now get out of here before I BEAT YOU UP!" she screamed, her voice cracking in the process. I stayed still, and felt a little remorse for the sad, scared kid.

"Don't cry, go to class," I said. "It's okay if you're boyfriend doesn't like you," I knew that's what it was. It was valentines day after all, and the fourth grade was mooning over boys... it was a normal thing for them, but weird for me. I don't know why they liked boys... The girl had a surprised expression on her face.

"How did you know?" she said, starting to cry again.

"It's okay. When you're older, you'll find someone," I said.

"Oh thank you so much want to be friends?" she asked. I blinked, as no one had ever asked to be my friend before.

"Uhm, sure," I said.

"Can we go shopping together every weekend?!" she asked, and I didn't really want to...

"Uh, I-" I said, but she cut me off.

"YAY! Let's be Best Friends Forever!" she squealed, took my hand, and ran. I followed her, unsure of this, and we went back to class.

**_-Garry- Age 21-_**

I went back to my apartment that night, and threw my coat on my bed, I grabbed my laptop, and wrote about a magnificent idea I had. What if there was a girl, whose father made human beings into dolls to preserve eternal beauty? I was inspired, and I swiftly typed across the keys. What would her name be...

_Anna Takashi_

No... it just didn't fit.

_Rebecca Sinthia_

Not even close...

_Aya Drevis_

Yes! That was it. I kept on typing, hoping to get a few pages done before midnight.

_11 Year old Aya drevis awoke in her bed, and decided she couldn't sleep._

_She opened the door to go see if her father was up._

_She quickly descended the stairs, and heard a buzzing coming from the basement._

_He long black hair bounced on her shoulders as she sprinted down the hall, and stopped._

_There was a trail of blood on the floor. _

Naw... then the story wouldn't have much plot. My eyes widened as another brilliant idea popped into my head. What if all the people he killed had become a curse, and now they were being raised from the dead? I had to get all these ideas down before I forgot them... and I jumped when the doorbell rang. I quickly got up, wondering who it was. I opened the door, and was surprised to see Michelle.

"Garry! That poem was so sweet!" she said, vibing with excitement.

"Uh, pardon?" I said, confused.

"Shut up!" she said, "You know that was for me, and actually, I wrote mine for you!" she squealed.

"Oh, well, I-" But she wouldn't let me speak.

"Yes! I'd love to go out with you!" she said, and I blinked.

"How about you, me, movie now!" she jumped. I blinked again, and tried to say something.

"Well, I don't-"

"Oh that's fine! We can go tomorrow!" she said, "Love you!" and she sashayed away. I stood there, dumbfounded and confused as to what happened. Did I just basically ask a girl out that I didn't like? I backed up, closed the door, and didn't want to think anymore. I picked my coat up from my bed and hung it up. I got changed quickly, and before I could collapse on my bed, I noticed a small white handkerchief laying on the bed. What was this... I picked it up, and there was blood on it. Why was this in my pocket...? I picked it up, feeling the soft lace, and noticed two letters in the corner: Ib. What was that, initials or something? I put down the handkerchief on my desk, and collapsed onto bed. I was too tired to go into that now... I closed my eyes and wondered into a night's sleep.

**_-Ib- Age 9-_**

We were dismissed to second recess, and the girl followed me around. I didn't really know her name though...

"Do you think we can go shopping this weekend?" she asked.

"Uh, maybe..." I said, and wanted to say no.

"Cool! If we can go we can drink milkshakes and try on dresses!" she said.

"Um, what's your name again?" I asked.

"Me? Oh, I'm Sakura!" she said. "What's your name?"

"Ib..." I said.

"Ib? We'll have lots of fun Ib! Whatcha wanna do now?" she asked.

"Dunno..." I said, wondering why I said yes to being friends.

"How about... foursquare?" she said, looking over to the line of people waiting to play foursquare.

"Sure... I guess," I said, following her over. We waited for a minute or two, and Sakura went into one of the squares. They bounced the ball back and forth, and I didn't even know how to play. Then, one of them hit it hard, and it bounced out.

"You're out!" A boy hollered and pointed at her. She looked sad and continued to the end of the line. The players moved, and I stepped into the square. The boy held the ball and bounced it into Sakura's square. She hit it, and it bounced in my square. I wasn't sure what to do, so I hit it into someone else's square, and it bounced rather high before he could catch it.

"Danni, your out!" Sakura laughed and pointed. He looked flustered, then stomped and held out his fist.

"I'm the foursquare king! I am NOT out!" he argued.

"The ball clearly bounced out before you touched it! Time for a new foursquare queen!" she said, patting her chest, telling everyone it would be her.

"No! I am the foursquare king and server you will not take my place!" he said.

"But you're not good enough!" she said, and I just stood there, watching. Maybe it was time to leave... I turned around to walk away when Sakura said my name.

"Ib!" she said, "Ib could be the foursquare queen! She got you out!" I wanted to keep walking, because I didn't want anything to do with foursquare.

"No!" the boy whined, "I'm the foursquare king!" he said, and then the bell rang. Thank Goodness it was over. I ran to the door, leaving Sakura behind.

**_-Garry- Age 21-_**

_Garry looked up, and saw himself, a blue doll in hand. There was a girl behind him, with golden locks spilling down her shoulders and crystal blue eyes. She smiled and looked at him, and he walked up the stairs and into one of the rooms. Garry for some reason found that he couldn't speak nor move, but only witness his supposedly future self take actions. Garry followed himself into the room, and there was a little girl, no older than three._

_"Mommy!" she said, rubbing her nose. Garry went closer for a better look, and the little girl looked up. Her eyes were bright crimson, and she had shaggy bangs over her eyes. Her brown hair was long and went to the middle of her back, and she had a rather surprised look on her face._

_"Ghost!" she said, and he backed up. Why was this girl able to see him? His future self and the girl looked behind them quickly, then laughed._

_"There's no ghost there honey, don't be scared," she said, and patted the girl's head. _

_"Get ready for school," his future self said, and she hopped off the bed. His future self then rustled through his pockets, and took out a lemon candy._

_"Here," he said, placing it into her hands. "Feel free to eat it," she stuffed it in her pocket, and went down the stairs. Garry looked at a painting behind the woman, and there was a painting of a girl with long, brown hair and a blue dress on. There was suddenly a crash, and the woman had come to life. The woman gave a shrill scream as she was bitten and torn apart by the painting lady. His future self gasped in horror as it tore skin off of his neck with its teeth. Garry was surprised, confused, and scared, and kept on watching. When his future self cried one last time in agony as blood surrounded the two bodies, the painting jumped up on the bed, and looked straight at Garry. Without warning, it jumped at the ghost as he was torn apart as well. _

I quickly inhaled and sat up. I was breathing hard and sweaty. What kind of dream was that... I haven't had a nightmare as lucid as that one for years. I looked at the clock, and it was 3:47. I sighed, and felt something drip off my face. I lifted my hand and touched my face, and it was wet. Confused, I slid out of bed and went into the bathroom. I turned on the light, and as my eyes adjusted to the light I saw a man with his purple hair all over the place, his eyes looking terrible, and tears streaming down his face. That guy was me. What the heck happened? I splashed some water on my face, and dried off, and when I left the bathroom I felt sad. I didn't really know why, but I'm assuming that was a foretaste of the future or something. Craziness... I went back in bed, but couldn't sleep. I turned the light on, and took out my laptop. Hm, it was better than sitting in bed doing nothing.

I logged on and opened the document titled, "Preserved Beauty,". I looked at what I had so far, and deleted it all. I had to start this over.

_"Father?" Aya Drevis said, knocking on the door._

_"Father? Are you in there?" she said, still knocking. _

_The door slammed open, and a tall man in a lab coat with glasses and a mask came out._

_"Father!" Aya said cheerfully._

_"Aya!" he said, sternly, "How many times have I told you not to come down here?"_

_"Sorry father..." she said, looking to the ground, "But um, I'm too scared to sleep on my own,"_

_"Aya... Don't worry, you're never alone... Okay? Now please, get to bed," he said._

_"Yes, father..." _

I looked at what I typed, and thought it wasn't so bad. Maybe I'd keep this... I saved it, and looked down at the clock. It wasn't even 4:00 yet... Guess that's better for me. I opened the word document back up and resumed typing.

**_-Ib- Age 9-_**

"Try this one on!" Sakura squealed, "Then we can get ice cream!" and shoved a scarlet dress in my face. I looked at it, and it was a nice dress, but I didn't want to wear it. It was the middle of a saturday, and I didn't want to eat at an ice cream parlour with a dress on.

"Um, I.." I said, trying to tell her I didn't want to, but she picked out a dress just like it except it was pink.

"I'll wear this one and we can be twinsies! Come on!" She said, took my hand and dragged me to the dressing room. She had to shove me into one of the stalls, and she changed quickly in the other. I stared at the bright scarlet dress for a bit, then decided I didn't really have a choice. It went on perfectly, like it was designed for me... it was kind of creepy how well it fit.

"Done yet Ib?" she asked, and I looked at myself in the mirror to see how I looked. My face turned red at what I saw. The dress practically wasn't covering anything. You could see my collarbone clearly, and just about all my shoulders.

"I can't wear this!" I said, and picked up my polo and skirt.

"Let me see you!" Sakura said, trying to open the door.

"No!" I said, trying to unzip the zipper in the back. I reached as far as I could, but my arm wouldn't reach any further. My arm finally got tired, and with a face that matched the color of the dress, I opened the door.

"Ib, you look AMAZING!" She exclaimed, and I put my arms across my chest.

"No I don't..." I said quietly.

"What are you talking about? You look fabulous!" Sakura smiled, and I noticed the dress covered even a bit less of her chest. I wanted to tell her that I wasn't used to going into the public with half of my chest uncovered, but I didn't think she'd care.

"Come!" she said, and dragged me to a giant mirror.

"We're twinsies!" she said, hugging me. I waited for her to let go, and she did.

"Let's go get ice cream now!" she said. She grabbed my hand once more, and went to her Mom.

"You two look great!" her Mom exclaimed, and paid for the dresses.

"Can we get ice cream now?" she asked, and her mom smiled.

"Sure honey!" she said, and I put the clothes I had been wearing before into the bag. I still liked my polo, scarf, and skirt better than this. We got into the car, and her Mom started it up. The radio blared loudly, and I listened carefully, trying to keep my eardrums from bursting. The words could be heard loud and clear, and I would've told Sakura the song was nice if it wasn't so loud. I looked out the window and hummed along with the chorus. I really liked the song, as it gave the feeling of swimming through the ocean. For some reason, my chest began to feel heavy at the next verse.

**_-Garry- Age 21-_**

By the end of the week, I had a rough idea on what the story line would be, and was about a third through the whole thing. So, there would be a mother that was killed by the father, and she would come back to bring the curse. So far there were about 100 pages, lots of revising and editing to do, and a tired Garry. Some nights I would stay up the whole night, just desperate to keep typing. When the weekend finally came I was so relieved and just kept going. Some time around noon, I decided to take a break and head to the cafe. Since there wasn't a cafe around where I was, I climbed into the car and started it up.

I opened the door to the small cafe and inhaled the sweet smell of cakes and coffee. I walked in and went to the counter to order.

"Hi! What would you like?" the small girl with platinum blonde hair asked.

"Um, a plate of macarons and a Vanilla frappe please," I said, and sat down in one of the booths. Shortly after that, she came over with a small plate with four macarons and a plastic cup filled with Vanilla frappe. I sipped my frappe and ate happily, but I couldn't help but notice the song playing on the radio:

_This is not what I intended..._

_I always swore to you I'd never fall apart..._

_You always thought, that I was stronger,_

_I may have failed but I have loved you from the start..._

* * *

**Two chapters, two days. Chapters won't normally go like this, it's just that I started this fic, and normally chapters go faster at the beginning and end. I do not own the story Garry it writing, its another rpg game called Mad Father. Song at the end creds: Fall for you by secondhand serenade. Please favorite and follow if you enjoyed, and be sure to leave me a review to tell me what you enjoyed!**


	3. Prologue III

**"If I could fall, into the sky... would you think time, would pass me by? 'Cause you know I'd run a thousand miles if I could just see you..." -Vanessa Clarton, A Thousand Miles.**

-Spring-

**_-Garry- Age 21-_**

I hummed along with the music playing on my computer.

_Best thing about tonight is we're not fighting..._

_Could it be that we have been this way before?_

_I know you don't think, that I am trying..._

_I know you're wearing thin-down to the core..._

Ever since I heard this song at the cafe, it inspired me. Past the strange feelings it gave me, it was a great song... I typed quickly as I revised and edited my soon-to-be novel called Mad Father. I re-wrote it in first perspective, and the epilogue is in third, but then the doorbell rang. I sighed as I paused the music and headed to the door.

"Garry!" Michelle hopped and dove on me. I still really didn't like Michelle, and she would never give me a chance to talk. Many times I've asked her to be finished with this joke, but to no avail.

"Erm, hi, Michelle," I muttered, and she was squeezing my neck so tight I could barely breathe.

"How 'bout we stop by the cafe? Okaaaay?" she said and took my hand. I walked behind the giddy girl down the block. Her golden locks bounced on her shoulders and she smiled and dragged me along. We entered the cafe, and she took a seat.

"Order for me, kay?" she said, and I got in line.

"Hi, what would you like?" I asked.

"Uhm, a plate of Macarons, a cinnamon roll, a vanilla frappe and a cappuccino, please," I said.

"Sure thing," she said, and I sat down at the booth Michelle was sitting in, and she was texting on her phone. I sat quietly, and she finally looked up.

"So... whereya wanna go after this?" she asked, twirling her hair around her finger. _Twirl, twirl, twirl. _She did that every time we talked.

"Dunno..." I said.

"Mmmm... how about..." she said, and the waitress came over and set down the food. I took a drink out of my Frappe, and Michelle bit into her cinnamon roll. There was a silence, and I decided to try again.

"Um, Michelle, I have something to tell you..." I said, and she jumped and leaned close to me. I backed up, and sighed.

"Erm, even as to how long we've been dating..." I said, and her eyes lit up.

"Yeah?" she said, and began to twirl her hair again.

"I think we should-"

"Get married?" she squealed and jumped up and down. I grit my teeth, and didn't want to hurt her at a time like this, but there wouldn't of been a better time.

"Break up," I said, and her face filled with horror. She blinked twice, and started fidgeting with her hands.

"W-what?" she said.

"I-I'm sorry, Michelle, you're beautiful and everything, but I just don't think this'll work out." I said truthfully. I closed my eyes and stood up, and she stared at me, eyes wide.

"B-But... why?" she asked almost inaudibly.

"Because that poem wasn't for you..." I said in a rush, just wanting to leave. Her face was in so much despair, it looked as if she was in a horror movie.

"I-It's... another girl?" she asked, and I hesitated. Was I supposed to say yes? There wasn't a better excuse... I nodded slowly.

"You never loved me?" she said weakly.

"I-I'm so sorry..." I said, then left the cafe silently. I had this great feeling of guilt wash over me, and I exhaled.

**_-Ib- Age 9-_**

"Ib, can I tell you something?" Sakura asked quietly, smiling.

"Why?" I asked, sprawling out on the floor. Sakura was apparently staying over at our house, and it was called a 'sleep over'. Sakura wasn't much better than the people at school, but she liked me. I didn't know if I liked her, but it sure was different being someone's friend. I kind of liked being alone, but being with a friend was...interesting, was all I could say so far.

"You're my best friend... promise you won't tell, 'kay?" she said.

"Sure," I said. Sakura came really close to me and I backed up.

"Come here," Sakura said, and she came close.

"No one's here! There's not like a ghost that'll hear you," I said.

"Okay, okay..." she said.

"What's so big about this secret?" I asked, sitting up from my sleeping bag. Sakura let out a huge dramatic sigh, and cupped her hand around her mouth.

"I have this huge crush on Satoru!" she squealed and took both of my hands.

"Don't tell ANYONE!" She whispered.

"I won't... what's so big about that?" I asked.

"Just... everything! I think he might like me!" she said, hugging her pillow. "Do you think my hair'd look better blonde, or black?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Oh, because! I dyed my hair blonde for my other boyfriend, who dumped me on valentines day..." she said.

"It's too young for that kind of commitment..." I said. Who was crazy enough to change how they looked for another person?

"No... do you think I should dye it back?" She asked, and I looked at her head full of blonde hair, and how unnatural it looked compared with her face.

"Yes..." I said.

"Sure! And you can get your hair done too!" she said and jumped. I sighed, and she slapped me in the face with another question.

"Do you like any boys?" she asked, smiling.

"No," I said, "Why would I like boys?"

"Just 'cause... they're boys! They're so... HAWT!" She squealed again. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"No one Sakura," I said, rolling my eyes.

"No one? It's gotta be someone!" she said.

"Come on! Naoko? Tohma? Tatsuya? Oh, Tatsuya's hot!" she said.

"Sakura, you're too young for boys," I said, lying back down.

"Nuh-uh!" she said. "We're in fourth grade!"

"And fourth grade is old to you?" I asked, and she laid down.

"Old enough for a boyfriend... I've had two already," she said, and I sat up quickly.

"Two?" I said, widening my eyes.

"They were so hot... except one of them said I was ugly, and the other said I was the worst girlfriend ever," she said.

"Okay, that's enough-"

"So Ib, tell me about this guy..." she said, leaning closer to me.

"There is NO ONE!" I said, my cheeks feeling warm.

"Are you suuuure?"

"Positive!" And then she made a sad face. She sprawled out in her sleeping bag, looking up at me with sad eyes.

"You won't tell your best friend who you like?" she said. I took a big breath, and exhaled. It was going to be a long night...

**_-Garry- Age 21-_**

I went back to my apartment, and resumed my work with the computer. I turned the music on, and kept on typing. I'd have to send this to a publisher soon... I liked the way it was turning up. I noticed I hadn't taken off my coat, so I got up and put it inside the small closet. Before I closed the closet, I noticed a peep of white lace at the bottom of the closet. I opened the door back up, and picked up a dusty handkerchief from the bottom of the closet.

"What's this?" I said to myself, and shook it off. There was dry blood on it, and it was fine quality lace.

_ Garry noticed a small white handkerchief laying on the bed. What was this... he picked it up, and there was blood on it. Why was this in my pocket...? He picked it up, feeling the soft lace. Garry put down the handkerchief onto his desk, and collapsed onto his bed. _

Oh. I never got back to it... well, maybe the person didn't care about his or her handkerchief... but it was so dirty... maybe I'd at least wash it. I rinsed the handkerchief off, and noticed two letters were engraved in the corner: I and B.

_Garry noticed two letters in the corner: Ib. What was that, initials or something? _

I turned of the fossett and dried it off. I liked the feeling of the soft lace... wonder who it belongs to. I took the damp handkerchief and sat down at the computer and Googled the initials: I.B. I frowned at the results that came up. There could be so many people with the initials I.B... Might as well keep it, I mean, they've probably bought another one by now. But it would be a good amount of money for one like this... plus the initials engraved into it. Ehh... maybe later... Procrastination was taking over, and I put it aside.

Then there was an abrupt knock on the door, and I quickly stood up and answered it.

"Garry..." Michelle said, and I shifted awkwardly. Oh boy.

"I don't think I'd ever told you how much I love you," she said nervously. I stood there and blinked.

"You were everything to me... I can't just let you walk out like that," she said, getting teary. I felt a little bad for not telling her in the first place, and this was the consequence. I did my best to try to make her satisfied. I put a hand on her shoulder and looked at her sea blue eyes.

"Michelle, you're an amazing girl..." I said, trying to sound confident and honest. Her eyes sparkled and a tear fell down her face.

"Someone will fall for you... just wait," I said, bearing a small smile. She closed her eyes, and tears dripped off her cheeks.

"I don't want anyone else..." she said, sniffing.

"You'll be fine," I said. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"This is not what I intended..." she sang softly. Her voice wasn't all that bad, but there were half sobs here and there.

"I always swore to you I'd never fall apart... you always thought, that I was stronger, I may have failed but I have loved you from the start," she sang, tears continuously wetting her cheeks. That line made my heart drop, and I didn't know if it was for her or for no reason. It was the same like the at the cafe... I felt so bad for the poor girl, but was the truth was couldn't be changed.

"Would you have rather had me lied?" I asked, and she looked up.

"Would you have rather had me lie, and if we got engaged, we would never be happy... I'm sorry, but I don't think it'll ever work out..." I said, choosing my words carefully. She blinked, and diverted her eyes back to the ground. Not looking back up at me, she left silently. My heart still felt heavy, and I went back inside. I closed my laptop and took a shower. After that I quickly dried off and dressed, then I finally got to collapse in bed.

**_-Ib- Age 9-_**

_Ib sat down on the large white couch and relaxed a bit._

_"You feeling tired, Ib?" A tall man with purple hair said, and she looked up at him and shrugged._

_"This place does seem pretty safe..." He said, looking around the room._

_"I'm okay," Ib said, and got to her feet._

_"Are you sure?" he asked._

_"Yeah..." she said, and slowly observed the room. Her gaze took a halt as she glanced at the painting with a man and a woman named, "Couple,". Her face started loosing its color, and the man walked over by her side._

_"Is there anything wrong?" he asked._

_"Mom and dad..." she said, starting to fidget with her skirt. Wide eyed, the man looked back up to the painting._

_"Are these really your mom and dad?" he asked, astounded. Ib nodded slowly, and blinked._

_"Where are they...?" she said quietly._

_"Where are they? I'm not quite sure... hopefully they're alright," he said, and put a hand on her shoulder, and she looked down from the painting as he lead her out. He twisted the knob to the door, but it didn't open. _

_"W-What? The door was wide open..." he said, and there was a loud pounding._

_"Is that coming from outside?" he asked, and Ib's expression didn't change. "B-Be careful Ib..." Ib went to the door and tried to turn the knob once more, and shifted nervously as it didn't open. The tall mad let out a yelp as there was the shattering of glass. However, Ib's expression remained neutral as the man took her hand, and began to run away from the painting. He went around the couch as there was another loud sound and they came to an abrupt stop.  
_

_The wall tore open and another painting came in. _

_"Eek-!" The man said, seeing they were trapped between. He leapt onto the couch, Ib following him. They crawled off the couch, and Ib pointed to the large opening in the wall. The man jumped off, with Ib not far behind, and quickly crawled out the large hole in the wall. _

_"Ib! Let's go!" He said, and quickly took her hand, and Ib tried her best to remain behind him. There were so many sculptures and paintings chasing them, she couldn't bear to look back... but she couldn't help but take one glance. The number of blood-thirsty mannequins and paintings behind her made her panic, and the adrenaline started to rush, and her legs felt unattached to her body, and she went as fast as she could. Before she knew it, she darted past the man, eyeing an open door ahead. She rushed through it and slammed it shut, and there was a large slam, and then a thump. Ib took a breath of relief, and squeezed her hand, but didn't feel another interlocked with hers. In horror, she opened the door to find frozen mannequins and paintings circled around a man with purple hair and a tattered coat, and blue petals scattered everywhere. She ran to him and shook him. Surprisingly, none of the mannequins or paintings were moving. They were just now mannequins and paintings. Tears started spilling out of her eyes, and she took her own rose and threw it down._

_"I'm so sorry..." she sobbed._

_"I'm so sorry..." _

I knew I was awake before I opened my eyes. There was a lump in my throat, and when I tried to swallow, the saliva wouldn't go. I forced my eyelids up, and stared at the ceiling. My heart felt like it was sinking, and my pillow was wet. What the... did I wet the bed or something? I got up quickly, and noticed it was only my pillow that was wet. Confused, I walked to the mirror and saw a girl.

A girl with messy brown hair going every which way, and there was a defined line of wet on her face, and I reached and touched it. It was wet, and I licked my finger and it was salty. Why was I crying?

I heard a fidgeting from the other side of the room, and I turned around quickly and was relieved to see Sakura sitting up slowly.

"I-Ib? What are you...doing?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. I walked back to my sleeping bag and sat down.

"Nothing," I said, wiping the tears away.

"Are you crying?" She asked, coming closer.

"No," I said, and lied back down.

"Why are you crying? Did a boy dump you too?" she asked.

"No," I said, closing my eyes. "Just a nightmare,"

"Oh..." she said, laying back down as well. I didn't pay attention to whatever she said next, and I thought about what happened in the dream. I was surprised to see that I didn't remember anything about it. What happened...? How could I forget something so quickly? I was sure it was planted in my head...

"Ib! Are you listening?" Sakura said, and poked my head.

"Huh," I said, and sat up.

"I said it's okay if a boy doesn't like you..." she said, "I've been through that before."

"Thanks Sakura, but-" I said, wanting to return to sleep, and she giggled.

"There's got to be a boy out there who loves you," she said and smiled.

"Well there's no boy out there who I love," I said, laying back down.

"Oh, there will be. In high school when you have a boyfriend, I'm going to rub that in your face," she teased, and I rolled my eyes.

"What time is it?" I asked, and she looked at the clock.

"A little after four," she said. "How about we stay up until morning?"

"No, go to sleep."

"But I'm not tired!" she whined, and started to toss and turn.

"Just close your eyes, and sleep," I then turned and faced the dresser to my right, and longed for morning to come.

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while! Been pretty busy with school and stuff... Next chapter, I can't say when it'll come, but not in the next four days for sure. I'm going on a class trip, and I'll be back by Friday. So hopefully there'll be something new to read by Monday. How am I doing? Please review, because I want to know how I'm doing. Reviews make me more likely to update faster! So review quickly so more chapters will be made!**


	4. End of prolouge

**Hey I've been on a trip like I told you, and now it's time to update! C: Hopefully I write another chapter tomorrow too! **

-Summer-

**_-Ib- Age 10-_**_  
_

"Happy fourth of July!" Sakura said, jumping into the air with a sparkler in each hand.

"Shh," I said, touching my lips with my finger. "The fireworks are starting soon,"

"Really? Finally!" She said, skipping over and taking a seat next to me.

"If they're too loud don't feel afraid to cover your ears honey," Mom said, and I smiled.

"I'll be okay,"

"Ib, how have you never seen fireworks before? They're so pretty!" Sakura said, handing me one of her sparklers. I took it and looked at the beautiful spark it made.

"This is my first time," I said, and looked at the sky.

"Well, prepare to be-" she was cut off by a large crack and a boom in the air. Startled, I jumped then gasped in awe of the beautiful colors in the sky.

"Wow..." I said under my breath. More rockets were shot into the sky, followed by explosions of colors.

"Aren't they amazing?" Sakura said. I stayed silent and kept watching them explode over and over. Masses of colors filled the sky, and I couldn't miss a second. Bursts kept my vision occupied as the whole audience's mouths fell open at the beauty of them.

When after several minutes passed, there was a finale in which you could barely see any of the velvet black sky, and my eyes hurt it was so bright. After it ended, everyone stood up and clapped. Mom pulled me and Sakura up and we clapped also.

"Did you like it?" Sakura asked.

"It was beautiful," I said, and she smiled.

"Told ya!"

"Now girls, it's very well past bedtime. Get in the car," Dad said, and we got off of the blanket we were sitting on. He picked it up and folded it, then we all walked back to the car.

**_-Garry- Age 21- _**_  
_

I opened the door, and was surprised to see a familiar face.

"Michelle?" I said, taking a step back. She's avoided me for the last few months, and she was back at my doorstep. Go figure.

"Garry..." she said. It was really awkward, and I didn't know what to say, so I kept quiet.

"I've decided, that we can still be friends," she said after taking a deep breath.

"Eh?" I said, thinking I had heard wrong.

"Yeah... can we still be friends?" she asked.

"Uhm... sure..." I said, shifting awkwardly. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Well, whenever I see you you're alone..." she said, and her glance diverted to the ground.

"What if I like being alone?"

"It's better when you have friends,"

"Look Michelle, I appreciate you concern, but I'm alright," I said, then turned around to close the door when she wrapped her arms around me from behind. I was beginning to get kind of creeped out.

"Michelle," There was no reply.

"Please, let go,"

"Garry... Please," she said.

"Let go," I said once more.

"You're the reason I'm alive,"

"What?"

"No one's ever loved me... I thought you did but... Can we please still be friends?"

"I said we could," she then buried her face into my back and squeezed me tighter. Just before I could shove her off, she let go and walked away. I stood there awkwardly, wondering what just happened, and closed the door as I went back in.

**_-Ib- Age 10-_**

"Ah...Ah-choo!" Sakura sneezed in the darkness of the car on the way home.

"God bless you!" Mom said.

"I need a tissue!" she said, and Mom turned around, and I looked over to her, and the inside of her elbow was against her nose, and covered in snot. I was silent, but debating if I wanted to comment on how gross it was. Mom fished through her purse, but eventually took her hand out.

"Oh, I must have left my handkerchief at home..." she said, putting her purse down. "What to do..."

"Ib, don't you have your handkerchief?" Dad said, not taking his eyes off the road.

"Huh? Uh, I think..." I said, and shoved my hand into my empty pocket.

"Uh, I don't have it," I said, taking my hand out.

"Ib, did you lose it?" Mom said sternly, and I shook my head.

"N-No! I know I had it..." I said, and couldn't remember the last time I had used it.

"Does anyone have anything! This is so gross!" Sakura said, not moving her arm.

"I think I have mine," Dad said, and fished a lace handkerchief out of his pocket, then handed it to her.

"Thanks," she said, taking it in her other hand, then I turned away. I didn't want to see all that snot.

"Ib, I remember the last time I saw your handkerchief was last winter..." she said, scratching her head.

"I think it's at home or something," I said, hoping I was right.

"Alright... but once you find it you need to tell my why you let it out of your sight," Mom said, and I began to relax. I was off the hook. For now. I stared out the window into the darkness of the night, praying that my handkerchief was somewhere at home. Where had I last seen it? I couldn't remember...

Before I knew it we came into the driveway, and Sakura swung open the door. I followed her out and when I went in, I started to look for my handkerchief. If I didn't have it, Mom would be really mad... I started looking under pillows, and pretended not to look for anything when my parents came around.

"Ib, Sakura, time for bed!" Dad said, and he pointed up the stairs.

"Okay!" Sakura said, and I followed her slowly up the stairs. We both quickly got changed and went into our sleeping bags on the floor of my bedroom.

"So Ib..." Sakura said, sitting up in bed.

"Yeah?" I said, staring at the ceiling.

"Satoru asked me out!" she jumped with excitement. "It was so romantic! We-"

"Okay Sakura, that's great." I said.

"I know right! I'm so excited for homecoming and prom!" I rolled my eyes silently.

"Sakura, you know that's in high school like eight years from no-"

"Ib, you don't get it! He's loved me since the beginning of the year!" she squealed. "It's going to last!"

"You don't know that Sakura," I said.

"But I can feel it!"

"Oh geez..."

**_-Garry- Age 21-_ **

I awoke to a knock on the door. I got up from bed and held my head, as I was suffering from a head rush. I then stood strait up and opened the door.

"Garry?" Michelle said sheepishly.

"What are you doing, waking me up at-" I checked my watch, and trailed off.

"Ten o'clock? It's not that early, is it?" she giggled, and I rolled my eyes.

"Can we go to the cafe?" she asked, and I sighed. I really didn't want to, but I couldn't quite say no.

"A..." I said, trailing off.

"Like old times?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"Alright..." I said, and she smiled, and didn't squeal for once. We walked together, and surprisingly she didn't hug, hold my hand, or even squeal. I had to admit, I was impressed. She mustn't really been desperate. We entered the cafe, and she told me to sit down.

"What?" I said in shock.

"Sit down. I already know what you want," she said, and I obeyed and took a seat. A few moments later she sat down, and sat there.

"So... um, Garry," she said, and starting messing with her fingers.

"Yeah?" I said, avoiding her gaze.

"I'm sorry I didn't let you talk. I just noticed now that I haven't been me in so long... I pretended to be someone I wasn't..." she said.

"Hey, it's fine. No hard feelings," I said, and relaxed a bit as the waiter came with our food. I bit into a sweet macaron and started to feel much better. I sipped my frappe and looked at her, staring at her own cinnamon roll. Her eyes had a strange sense of sorrow, and her pin straight blonde hair, which was curly before, was hanging down from her head. I really didn't know what to say to her.

"Michelle," I said, and she looked up at me.

"You know, I'm really-"

"Sorry? I know, and I've also known you were never mine," she said. I looked at her curiously and finished my macaron, and took another sip.

"Well, you know... there are a lot more people out there better than me," I said.

"Oh really? No way. Everyone's unique," she said, stirring her cappuccino with the straw. "I'm just a lonely pianist,"

"Pianist?"

"Yeah... I have an album released, but sales aren't too great," she said.

"Really? I'd love to hear you play," I said, and she smiled smally. I finished up my last macaron and got up. She got up as well, threw away the napkin and kept her cappuccino. We left the cafe, and I followed her to her apartment. I'd never been to her apartment, and was kind of curious, now knowing she was a musician. She opened the door for me, and I stepped in. There was a couch against the wall, a door, and an electric keyboard against the wall with a window above it. She sat down, and told me to take a seat.

"Sit," she said, and I sat down slowly. She started to play slowly, a song that reminded me of a tropical island. I really didn't know anything about music, but I loved listening to it. She began to speed up, giving a feeling of jazz and tropical fruit.

"Live the gift, live the life," she sang quietly.

"Don't hold back, no don't hold back. Look up to the sky, what do you see, me flyin' high." she continued to softly sing lyrics to a jazzy song, and I tapped my foot to the beat. When she finished, I gave her applaud that she deserved.

"That was great!" I said, and she smiled.

"I made it up," she said, "I also made this one," she played a small melody and chords. It was in a strong minor key, and sounded like depressing music.

"She never slows down...She doesn't know why but she knows that when she's, all alone, it feels like it's all, coming down... she won't turn around... the shadows are long and she fears if she cries, that first tear, the tears will not stop, raining down..."

She continued to the chorus, I thought that it would sound great with guitar.

"So stand in the rain, stand your ground. Stand up when it's all crashing down, you stand through the pain, you won't drown... and one day what's lost can be found, you stand in the rain,"

My chest felt heavy during the chorus, and I starting feeling kind of uncomfortable. It just got heavier when she continued singing through the song, and I could feel my eyes getting itchy and watery.

"She wants to be found... the only way out is through everything she's running from, wants to give up, and lie down," I really liked the song, it kept tugging at my chest.

"You stand through the pain, you won't drown... and one day what's lost can be found..." The line stuck in my head, as she finished the song.

"That was amazing," I said, and she smiled.

"Thanks for... coming over." she said, and I stood up.

"Uhm... bye," I said, heading for the door.

"Bye," she said as I exited. I went back to my apartment, and couldn't get that song out of my head.

"...And one day what's lost can be found, you stand in the rain..."

**_-Ib-Age 10- _**_  
_

Sakura would not SHUT UP about Satoru. I was beginning to think otherwise against my best friend.

"And it'll be so romantic!" She giggled.

"Stop talking about prom," I said, "It's in eight years,"

"Oh, Ib, but you don't understand," she took a giant sigh.

"You have to leave soon!" I said. "All your clothes are on the ground! Pick them up so you can leave!"

"Aww... it was fun," she said, and smiled.

"And um... if you find my handkerchief while cleaning, give it to me," I said, and she smiled.

"Sure! Are you looking for it?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Yeah,"

"Alright! Hopefully it's somewhere in this mess of clothes." she said, smiling. She started cleaning up the random clothes all over the room, and I rolled up my sleeping bag. I sat on my bed and stared out the window at the bright sky.

"Found it!" Sakura said, disrupting my thoughts. I turned around to see her with a white cloth in her hand.

"Thank you!" I said, relieved. When I took it, it was rough, and I sighed when I looked at it. Of course.

"Sakura, this is a washcloth!" I said, and threw it in her face.

"Oh," she said, and stuffed that in her bag sheepishly.

"Mom's going to kill me if I lose it... she gave it to me for my birthday," I said, diverting my gaze to the ground.

"You'll be fine... it was just a handkerchief," Sakura said, picking up her headband.

"One made out of real lace," I said, sitting down.

"Lace isn't that expensive, is it?"

"And my name engraved in the corner," I said, doubtedly.

"Oh... that must be expensive," she said, and zipped up her bag.

"What am I going to do? I don't know where it is... it was a birthday present," I said, and Sakura put a hand on my shoulder.

"It'll be fine. I lose stuff all the time, and I'm still alive!" she said. I smiled at the effort to cheer me up, but I felt kind of scared as to what Mom would do. Would she yell at me? I've heard of some parents spanking their kids... Would Mom do that to me?

"Here, I'll go with you," Sakura said, and took my hand. I was reluctant, but eventually gave in. She dragged me downstairs, and we ran into my Mom.

"Say it Ib!" she whispered.

"Uhm, hi Mom..." I said, and she smiled warmly. Her hair was up as it was normally, and she was wearing a red dress.

"Hi honey? How are you doing?" she asked, and I felt that I didn't want to interrupt her good mood.

"Good Mom," I said, and almost turned when Sakura elbowed me and I stood straight up.

"You know my handkerchief?" I said quietly.

"Did you find that?" she asked, and I couldn't look her in the eye. There was just this feeling... that I couldn't keep eye contact with her. I looked to the ground, and Sakura nudged me again.

"No... I don't know where it is," I said, and she looked so disappointed. I felt so bad for losing it.

"Honey... I gave that to you for your birthday... you can't find it?" she asked, and I felt like my heart was going to stop beating. Was Mom going to spank me? I've heard that sometimes parents beat their kids... Talk about cruel.

"Mom, I knew I had it... I just can't remember the last time when I did. I...I.." I trailed off, and Mom's expression faded.

"The last time I remember having it in my hands is..." Mom said, and looked to the right to think.

"Um..." she said, and didn't move her gaze.

"I've never seen it," Sakura said and put her hands in the air.

"So it was before winter..." Mom said.

"I remember I had it at halloween. I used it to clean the bottom of the candy bowl... there was so much chocolate everywhere," I said, remembering how much I hated chocolate then. It was all dark chocolate. Milk chocolate's okay, and I love white chocolate. However, not much white chocolate is given out on halloween.

"Ah!" Mom said, sparking with remembrance. "Remember when we went to the Guertena Art museum?"

"Yeah?" I said, not quite remembering.

"That was the last time I think I held it," she said, and I thought for a minute. Guertena...museum?

"You were looking at the big fish painting... remember?" she said, and I instantly remembered the giant mural on the floor with fish on it.

"Yeah..." I said, and Sakura pepped up.

"So she must've left it there?"Sakura asked, and Mom thought for a second.

"Ib, do you remember dropping it or something?" Mom asked, and I tried to remember. Did it fall out of my pocket or something?

"No..." I said, "But I don't quite remember having it after that,"

"Okay, so maybe it's at the lost and found there!" Mom said, and I nodded.

"Hopefully! Can I come?" Sakura asked, and Mom smiled.

"Sure Sakura!" She said. She made a quick call to Sakura's parents, and before I knew it we were in the car, driving back to the museum.

"Is the museum cool? Are there pretty pictures?" Sakura asked, and I smiled and nodded. I remembered the giant fish painting, but when I tried to remember other things... I felt they were on the tip of my tongue- I knew what they were and what they looked like, but they were just out of my reach. When we pulled into the parking lot and parked, Mom got out and we swung open the car door. We climbed out and Mom walked us over to the large museum ahead.

Sakura heaved open the heavy door, and before us was a reception desk. I looked around, and couldn't help but notice the striking familiarity.

"Oh... I remember this," I said, and for a moment couldn't believe how much I couldn't remember... it was all so... vivid.

"A few months ago, my daughter dropped a lace handkerchief with her name on it," Mom said to the receptionist, and he stared intently at her.

"Yes, the lost and found is over here," he said, and he lead us back behind the counter and into a room with lots of junk in it. There was a wristwatch, a hat, and even a skateboard...

"People sure leave a lot of stuff here," Sakura said. Mom dug through drawers and stuff, but there was no sign of the lace handkerchief. I looked under the drawers and things, but there was nothing with my name engraved on it. I don't know how long I looked, but Sakura got bored.

"I'm so bored! Do you really think it's here Ib?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"Not anymore..." I said, kicking the skateboard aside. Ugh... where could that handkerchief be?

-**End of Prologue-**

* * *

**:3 That's the end of the prologue What, did you think the story started yet or something? How's your day? Sorry I promised this yesterday, but I was really busy then... sorry. Hope you enjoyed this. First real chapter starts next time I update! Be excited! :P**


	5. Chapter 1: Life

**"No one talks to her, she feels so alone, she's in too much pain to survive on her own, the hurt she can't handle overflows to a knife, she writes on her arm and wants to give up her life..." -Superchick- Hero **

**_-Ib- Age 14-_**

"Hurry up Sakura! I don't want to be late!" I said, tapping my foot impatiently. Sakura was still applying eyeliner to her eyes in front of the mirror.

"Can you just wait? I don't want to look bad on the first day of high school!" She said, carefully applying more makeup.

"I'm leaving without you..." I said, and she she turned around quickly.

"I'm almost done! One sec..." she said, and add a final touch to her mascara. Then she grabbed her bag and I opened the door, and let myself outside. The sun wasn't up yet, and it was still cool outside.

"When is the bus coming?" she asked, and I checked the time on my cell phone.

"Should be here in a few minutes," I said, and heard it stating to come. We walked down the driveway, and stopped at the sidewalk as the bus came to a stop. Sakura went up first, and I followed. We picked one of the seats in the front, and plopped down our stuff.

"You nervous?" she asked, and I shrugged.

"Not really," I said, and I noticed she was shaking.

"I'm scared... what if they don't like freshmen?" she asked, and I rolled my eyes and put my hand on her shoulder.

"You'll be fine. Just ignore them," I said, and she pulled her skirt up.

"Is this short enough? A good length?" she asked, and her skirt was about two inches below her waist.

"That's way too short," I said, "You'll get a detention for that length,"

"Come on! That's what all the seniors do," she said. "Look at your skirt!" I looked down at my skirt, and the end rested right above my knee.

"This is non-detention length," I said, and she patted the red fabric of her skirt.

"This is stylish length," she said, and I couldn't help but sigh. Before I could say anything more, the bus came to a stop, and I got out of my seat to get off. Sakura followed behind me, hugging her bag. We walked into the building, and the lady at the front gave us our lockers.

"Ib Kouri? Your locker is number 1039. Sakura Katsumi? Locker 1097," she said, almost like a robot.

"Thank you, ma'am," I said, and Sakura followed me to the freshman hall. There were a bunch of girls and guys scattered everywhere, and they were all nervous. I found my locker, and Sakuras was way at the end of the hall.

"Who's the girl with the floor-length skirt?" A loud voice said, and I ignored it, but Sakura stopped walking.

"She's talking to you!" Sakura said, and nudged me. I turned around, and there was a tall girl with black curly hair that spilled down her shoulders, and a short girl with brown hair that was put up into a tight bun.

"What's up with you?" she asked, and I noticed their skirts were so short, you could see their underwear when they walked.

"What?" I asked, and she came closer to me. Sakura was holding on to my arm, and the girl with brown hair whispered something to the one with black hair, and she gasped.

"They're here!" she squealed, and ran off.

"Who's they?" I asked, and Sakura pulled me.

"Come on Ib! They're here!" she screamed and dragged me through the halls.

"Who is here?" I asked, and we approached a large crowd in the hallway.

"My boyfriend! Since we went to a different middle school, I haven't seen him in so long!" she said, and I tried to look over the crowd. I barely recognized Satoru with his straight black hair, and an earring. In elementary school, his hair was curly and he normally wore a baseball cap... what happened?"

"Oh my goodness... he's changed so much," Sakura said, gawking. "Even though he's a grade above us, he'll remember me, right?" without warning, she dove into the crowd, and I couldn't catch a hold of her. I tried to make my way through, and I saw Sakura running to Satoru. I stood there and watched.

"Satoru!" she said, and ran up to him.

"What do you want, little girl," he said, and pushed her down. She fell flat on her butt, and looked shocked. Everyone roared with laughter, and I didn't quite see what was so funny.

"I-I'm Sakura... remember?" she said quietly.

"Sakura? That's a terrible misuse of the name of a flower... Why would someone name a hideous girl the name of a flower?" he asked, and she looked like she was about to cry.

"You... don't remember?" she said almost inaudibly.

"You gonna cry sweetie? If I ever knew someone as ugly, I wouldn't want to remember them! Now piss off!" he shouted, and she started crying.

She really started crying. I stomped over and stood in front of Sakura.

"Listen up, you jerk!" I said, and he looked surprised.

"Aww... look at mighty minnie to save the day!" he said, and I could tell the crowd was quite entertained.

"Shut the heck up!" I said, "If you're going to make fun of my friend, you should be the one to piss off!"

"Oh yeah?" he said, and he made a fist with his hand.

"Yeah," I said, "Do whatever you want with me. Don't hurt my friend," Without warning, he grabbed my shirt and slammed me against the wall. I winced in pain, and he threw a punch at my left eye. I cried out in pain, but he wasn't done. He threw another at my stomach, and then grabbed my hair and stuffed it in my mouth. I crumpled to the ground in pain, and he left, the crowd following him. I felt blood leaking down my left eye, and I felt like I was going to vomit. Slowly, I stood up, took two steps, and saw the trash can. I walked over and threw up. When I lifted my head back up, I had forgotten there was hair in my mouth, and my hair was full of disgusting crap. I looked around for Sakura, but she was nowhere to be found. I excused myself from class, and went to get some ice.

Later, when I walked into class with a black eye, no one would stop whispering. All I wanted to know was where Sakura was... Afterwards, she met up with Sakura by her locker.

"Sakura?" I said, and she packed things into her bag for her next class.

"Sakura, I'm talking to you," I said, and she looked up.

"Ib..." she said, and threw her arms around me.

"I'm so sorry... you didn't have to," she said, and I shrugged.

"Hey, it wasn't that bad," I said, and she swung her bag over her shoulder.

"Come on Ib... let's go to the library for Study hall," she said, and we walked over there silently. The library was quiet, and I sat down at one of the tables. Sakura took a seat next to me, and closed her eyes, silently crying.

"Sakura, you're fine," I said, patting her back.

"The juniors insult whatever I do... the seniors won't even look at me. Am I really that ugly? Is Satoru right?" she said, and I sighed.

"Sakura, Satoru has changed. Get over that. The juniors and seniors are jerks. Get over that too," I said, attempting to comfort her.

"I just can't get over... how much I like Satoru!" she said, letting it all out. "Have you seen his eyes? Take a look at his hair! And those muscles!"

"...That punched me in the face," I said, and she slouched and put her head down.

"You girls are crybabies," A voice said behind me, and I ignored it. I got out my Pre-Calculus textbook and opened it up.

"Everyone in this school likes one of the three, Satoru, Tohma, or Kazuki," she said, and took a seat at our table. She looked at my black eye, and backed away a bit.

"They're all jerks. I don't even know why people fall for them... except for maybe Kazuki. He's hilariously rich, but stays quiet most of the time," she said. Sakura put her head up.

"Why are you telling this to us?" she snapped.

"Just thought you should know. I'm Noriko," she said.

"Are you a senior?" Sakura asked, and Noriko laughed.

"No way! I'm just a sophomore," she said. "I like the library though, where none of the cliques go,"

"Please, leave us alone," I asked, and Sakura nudged me.

"Tell me more!" Sakura said, and Noriko took a breath.

"Well... in this school, there are several cliques. The nerds who spend their whole day studying, the popular, obviously, the wanderers, who don't know where to go with their life, and those three boys, who are already hilariously rich. This is a private school you know..."

"Yeah..." Sakura said. I ignored them and started reading the lesson from the book. Boy, this is going to be long year...

**_-Garry- Age 25-_ **

"What inspired you to write this book?" A student asked, an I smiled warmly.

"I really don't know... the thought of eternal beauty I guess," I said, and she nodded. My book, _Mad Father, _had sold well and I had been invited to a high school to talk about it. It was displayed on a table, and sophomores in high school surrounded me in the vast theater.

"Did you base anyone in the story off of a real person?" another asked after I called on her.

"Eh... not really," I said.

"We're almost out of time," said the teacher standing next to the stage, and I nodded. Eager hands sprung up and were stretched, and I picked one in the back.

"Why would Aya-" everyone around her let out a _shhh_ because not everyone had read the book yet.

"...Do...what...she did?" she asked.

"That's kind of a hard question without spoiling it," I said.

"Haha, I understand," she said.

"Thank you so much Garry," said the teacher, and she got up and I took a seat.

"Now, you all may go to lunch," said the teacher, and everyone started filing out of the theater. I hung back as the students went around me, kind of like a rock in a stream. When all the students left, the teacher came up to me.

"Well, I'd have to say you're book is fantastic!" she said, and I smiled.

"Thanks. It did take a while to publish though,"

"Oh, I bet. When I have a daughter, I think I want to name her Aya," she said, and didn't know what to say. That was a really awkward statement. I then decided to change the topic.

"So, what do you teach?" I asked.

"I teach math. I love teaching math, but I might want to move to middle school because the high schoolers have no sense of humor anymore!"

"How long have you been at this school?" I asked.

"Well... two years now. I've taught at other schools, but I seem to like this one a little better. Huh, I sure am younger than a bunch of other teachers here though," she said. She did look pretty young, but the fact that she had no kids and wanted to... probably around my age. But of course, I don't plan on any children.

"Nice talking to you," I said, and walked away. I went through the halls, trying to find an exit. I found a door, but it wasn't where I parked my car... where was everything? I didn't know they had schools like this nowadays. I kept walking, and ran into a group of girls while trying to navigate the hall. I was about six foot tall, and one of the girls was almost taller than me. Huh, I guess that's just high schoolers these days. I brushed past them and heard whispering, and found another exit. I opened the door, but it lead to the court yard. How many exits were there?

"You look lost, you need help?" a short girl offered, and I nodded.

"Uhm, yeah... where's the exit?" I asked, and she smiled.

"Right this way,"

She walked past a bunch of guys, and I struggled to keep up. The best part about being short: you move faster. When we finally met a door, she smiled.

"Here," she said, "Thanks for coming,"

"Thanks," I said, and opened the door and walked outside. It was warm, but not hot. I looked out in the parking lot and thankfully saw my car. I walked down and started it up, and checked the time on my phone, and it was about 12:30. I drove back to the small apartment I still called "home" and parked there. I stepped out, to see Michelle waiting there. I walked up, and smiled.

"How's it going?" I asked.

"Badly... really badly," she said.

"How so?"

"They don't like me... No, that's an understatement. They hate me, they don't want me," she said.

"Come on... you started like two months ago! You should be into it now," I said.

"No..."

"When's practice today?" I asked.

"I skipped it to talk to you. It's from 8:00 to 5:30," she said.

"Michelle, you don't skip practice to talk to me," I said.

"I did... and I don't want to go back,"

"Let me come with you," I said, and she looked at the ground and shifted nervously.

"No,"

"Michelle, you guys are a hit! You made two songs on their album entirely," I said.

"That's why they don't like me. They don't want to lose all the power and stuff. They're all in the magazines, and I'm starting to take over because I'm a songwriter,"

"Well you show them!" I said. Her phone chirped, and she took it from her pocket and looked at it, and her hand dropped by her side. I could tell she was in the danger of tears.

"All my friends are hating on me..." she said, and showed me the phone. There was a tweet by her friend, Ayumi, and read:

"Stop trying to take over the band! Why don't you go rot in hell!"

"Geez, they don't have to say that!" I said.

"Well, Ayumi's my best friend..." she said, a tear starting to stream down her face.

"It's alright..." I said, trying my best to comfort her.

"What's so bad is the magazines record whatever I do!" she shouted and threw her phone on the ground.

"The only option is to back down. Just stay quiet during practice," I said, and she shook her head.

"They they won't think I'm helping and I'm useless," I started to understand the situation. They weren't satisfied with whatever she did.

"Then quit!" I said.

"I can't, it's my money!" she said.

"Then go... there's not much a better option," I said. She stood there for a while, and straightened her back, then walked to her car.

"Tell me how it goes," I said, and she nodded as she drove away. I walked back and entered my apartment, and collapsed on my bed.

**_-Ib- Age 14-_**

"Yum!" Sakura said and licked her mint ice cream cone. I licked my plain vanilla one, and we walked along the sidewalk.

"I don't care if this school year is terrible, ice cream is awesome!" she said, and I smiled.

"I say you should leave Satoru alone," I said, and she shrugged.

"He's gotten so much more attractive though," she said, and I stopped.

"Even if he is, he is a jerk!" I said, and she sighed.

"I wish we could go back..." she said.

"You'll be fine," I said. She started walking on a small stone wall, about two feet up, and I followed her. I kept licking my ice cream, as it tasted good in the warm weather, when Sakura tripped.

And fell.

In front of Satoru.

"Sakura!" I said and helped her up.

"You okay?" I asked, and she nodded. Her ice cream was kind of dead, and she had a few scratches and scrapes. She got up, and Satoru's beady eyes glared at us.

"Look what you've done," he said, and motioned toward his shoe. It had green ice cream all over it dotted with chocolate chips. Why did Satoru have to be there, at that exact time? Why did we get ice cream for lunch?

"This shoe was expensive!" he complained, and Sakura cringed in fear.

"I-I'm so sorry!" she said, and his glare did not subside.

"If you're so sorry..." he said, "Then lick it,"

"W-What?" she said.

"Lick it," She didn't move from where she was standing, and I moved forward.

"Don't make my friend do that. Leave her alone," I said.

"Fine. Then you lick it," I said, and I decided I didn't want to get punched again. I bent down, and before I licked it, I had a better idea. I stood up quickly, and shoved my half eaten ice cream cone in his face. His face expression was priceless, he looked half humulated, disgusted, and a sense of terror on his face. Before I could laugh or he could beat me up, I took Sakura's hand and rushed back into the school building.

"What if he comes back to beat you up?" Sakura asked me, and I shrugged.

"I don't care," I said, "He can buy another pair of his fancy shoes,"

"Ib... I can't help but still like him... even if he is a jerk," she said,

"Go ahead. If you start dating, you're going to become like him," I said, and she stopped there. We walked in silence for a moment, and she finally spoke again.

"I really don't care... I still love him,"

* * *

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while... I pretty much haven't been home all week! Next chapter will come soon, maybe even today! Thanks for reading guy! Remember to favorite/follow and especially leave a review if you enjoyed! If you leave a review, that guarantees the next chapter sooner!**


	6. Chapter 2: Dignity

**" Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb, Without a soul my spirit's sleeping sompbewhere cold... Until you find it there and lead it back home," -Bring me to Life**

**_-Garry- Age 25-_ **

"Michelle, there's nothing I can do about it," I said.

"But I can't take it anymore!"

"Well, if you want help and keep denying the suggestions I give you, why ask for it in the first place?" I asked. Michelle was being really bothersome, as she denied every suggestion I gave her. She was telling me how terrible they treated her, but there was nothing I could do about it. If there was something I could do, I would, but there wasn't quite.

"I don't know... I need someone to tell it to," she said.

"Michelle, you're my friend, and you can tell me whatever," I said, "But if you ask for help, maybe interpret my suggestions instead of denying them?"

"But they're so high in power, and I'm the newbie. I can't stand up to them," she said.

"Hey, but you can. Say they can't kick you out because you write most of the songs," I said, trying to be helpful. Her phone chirped, and she took it out and had an expression of clear distress on her face. It chirped again, and she no longer looked.

"What are they saying?" I asked, and grabbed her phone.

GO KILL YOURSELF

...

DIE

...

PISS OFF

I cringed at what I saw, and felt sorry for her. The tweets kept popping up, and I turned the phone off, then placed it in her hands.

"Keep your phone off," I said, "It might help," She nodded hopefully and put it in her pocket. She left for the night, and I retired to my bed.

_Don't look back, keep running forward. Garry sprinted wherever he could go, and didn't want to look back. His feet moved swiftly, and fought the urge to stop and give up. Almost there... he could feel it. He kept running, and suddenly tripped and fell. When he hit the ground hard, he could no longer move. His mussels were sore from the lack of oxygen, and his throat felt it was closing up. _

_It was coming._

_He tried to get to his feet, fell, and tried again. But he kept finding himself on the ground._

_"Don't run away..." A taunting voice said. He was almost out... he could still make it, as long as it didn't find him in this labyrinth. He got up once more, and gasped when he heard the voice, but louder. _

_"I know where you're hiding," it said, and he took off once more. Darting around corners, taking abrupt stops before hitting walls, looking for an exit. He turned a corner, and saw a girl slumped in a slumbered heap against the wall in the distance, and picked up his pace, but stopped when he saw it coming from the other direction, behind the girl._

_"You're too late," it said through its teeth, and it started to build a wall, brick by brick. Paralyzed, Garry stood, and then collapsed. He couldn't move no longer. The bricks stacked up higher and higher, then finally it was becoming darker. There was a slit of light left, and Garry looked up at the last spark of hope dissapear. Slowly, he got up, and found tears starting to come down. Crying and screaming, he kicked and punched at the wall with bare fists until there were blood stains on the wall. He couldn't stop. He wouldn't stop. And then he noticed, there was a brick wall behind him, with only a trickle of light streaming through. _

_When the last brick was placed._

_Hopeless, he slumped against the wall, blood wetting the carpet from his fists, and cried. _

**_-Ib- Age 14-_ **

"You don't understand!" Sakura said.

"Yes I do! You can't keep doing that, Sakura... I don't want you hurt," I explained, and she shook her head.

"No... Ib, I love Satoru..." she said, trailing off.

"You have to understand, it's not how he looks, its who he is!"

"You may not think that... but I know deep down in there, he isn't who you think he is,"

"How do you know?"

"Because I love him. You don't get it!"

"Please Sakura, don't..."

"Ib... have you ever been in love?" she asked, and I froze at the question. Have I...ever been in love?

"Have you ever had this, wonderful feeling? It feels like your heart is going to sink to the ground, and you can feel it pound?" she asked. I turned around and looked out the window, wanting to avoid the question.

"You've been in love at some point... haven't you?" she tried again, but I kept silent. I had the answer in my brain, but I didn't want to say it.

_No. _

If you've never been in love, does that mean you're somewhat heartless? I don't want Sakura to think of me like that. I stared off into the distance, and at the next stop Sakura got up and got off the bus. That meant my stop was next. It felt like I could hear my heart beating, knocking at my chest at a steady beat. Rain streamed down the windows, and I let out a sigh.

If Sakura was "So in love" with Satoru, did she love him enough to endure what he puts her through? I'm not in many of her classes, and he's been bullying her ever since the first day. My eye wasn't as bad as I thought it was, and it healed pretty quickly. But why does she put up with it?

The bus came to a stop, and I grabbed my bag and headed off the bus. I went up the driveway and into the door, and Mom was waiting for me, smiling.

"Hi honey, how was your day?" she asked.

_Terrible. _

But that wasn't what came out of my mouth.

"Good, thank you," I said, and climbed up the stairs and threw my book bag against the wall. Well, if Sakura was going to fall for Satoru, she's convinced me she won't change her mind. Maybe I can get him to stop bullying her. I took out my phone, and went to my contacts. I tapped "Satoru Shinozaki," and looked at the number below. Sakura had given me his number, for who knows why. I tapped "Send message," and took a deep breath.

"Hey Satoru, I need you to stop it with Sakura. She just wants to be friends with you." I typed, and closed my eyes as I pressed "send".

I paused for a moment and came to my senses.

What the heck did I just do?

...

I wish I could unsend something. A few moments passed, and my phone buzzed.

"What are you, her bodyguard or something?" It read, and I quickly replied.

"No. But please stop."

"She keeps bothering me and is annoying as hell,"

"Stop that. That hurts her more than you think,"

"Oh yeah?"

"Shut up. Pick on someone your own size,"

"Piss off, girly,"

"I want you to stop harassing my friend,"

There wasn't a reply, and I put my phone on my night stand and unzipped my book bag. I took out my math binder and my pencil case then flopped on my bed and started doing functions and graphs.

_Bzzt._

My phone buzzed, and I froze, afraid to look at it. I picked it up, and cringed.

"Meet me after school at the courtyard," It read, and I dropped my phone, and let those words sink into my brain.

He was going to fight me. I couldn't stop worrying as I did my homework, and I bet I made tons of mistakes. Did I stand a chance against Satoru? He was a grade above me, and probably a lot stronger than me.

Maybe I could.

Huh, maybe I will.

**_-Garry- Age 25-_**

I woke up on the floor, sweating. My knuckles were white, I was clenching my fists so hard.

A dream. I haven't had one in a while. But whenever I have a dream, it happens to be a nightmare. Good dreams no longer exist now in life, I guess. I groaned as I got to my feet, and looked at the clock. It was 5:28. I was still in shock from the lucid dream of terror, and was kind of frightened to get to my feet. I stood on both of my feet, kind of weary, and looked around my dark apartment. Blood was black in the dark. In the dark, everything was a shadow. I shook my head and turned on the light. It burned my eyes, and I clutched my head, hoping they would adjust. When they finally did, I took a breath of relief that it was all a dream.

I turned on the shower, and rinsed my cold, sweaty body in the water, and pulled on some clothes. I then checked the time, and it was almost six. I opened my laptop, and decided I wanted to go to Michelle's band practice, or at least a portion. I needed to see what was so bad about everything. I looked online for a writing prompt, and picked one out.

"Tangled Christmas lights, lost luggage, and a rainy day. When your character goes through these things, it tells a lot about them. Choose one of these three topics for a character to go through," It said, and I got to work and opened a new document.

Time flew by quickly, and at 7:30, I left my apartment and drove over to the to the music store where they practiced in a private room in the back. I opened the door, and looked around at all the guitars hanging on the wall, and keyboards around. There were many drum sets around, and pretty much every instrument you could name.

"Hello sir, are you looking for something?" a lady at the counter asked.

"Um, I'm a friend of Michelle's," I said, "And I'd like to see her,"

"Oh? Let me see if she has time," she said, and went down the hall and turned the corner. I stood there and waited as people started to enter the store and try out instruments. After a short while, the woman came back.

"She says she doesn't want to talk to you," she said, "I'm sorry," I stood there and looked at her in disbelief, and massaged my temples. Why...?

"I need to see her," I said, "It's urgent,"

"Who are you, exactly?" she asked.

"I'm a friend of Michelle's,"

"Oh? Lot's of fans say that. I'm not supposed to let people in the back. Fans that find out they practice here aren't allowed, even if they're smart," she said. I took out my phone and texted her.

"What's up? Tell her I can come back,"

I sent it, and I waited, but nothing happened. Then I remembered I told her to turn off her phone, and I almost slapped my face. My fault anyway. I pleaded to see them, and she sighed.

"I'll try again, but this last time," she said, and went down a hall and turned again.

There was a kid that was obnoxiously hitting the drums, and a girl pounding on the keyboard. Everything kind of just hurt my ears, when she came back.

"Michelle doesn't want to hear from you, but Elena does," she said, and I breathed a silent breath of relief and followed her down the hall, past the many doors, behind a curtain, and behind the door with a star on it. Behind it there were five girls, one was really short and had wavy brown hair put in a tight pony tail, an girl with fluffy platinum blonde hair that just reached her shoulders, one with dirty blonde hair all the way down to her waist, another with shiny blonde hair below her shoulders, and in the corner stood Michelle.

"That's your boyfriend?" the one with brown hair said really loudly.

"Ew! I bet he's gay!" another said.

"Ha! Someone Michelle would date!" the one with pin strait blonde hair said, and I stood there awkwardly. The woman that escorted me to the room left silently, and I just looked at all of them as they hurtled insults at me. Michelle was quiet, and looked at the ground while another one just stared at me in a daze.

"Guys, stop it with Michelle. If she wants to help, let her help," I said, and all the color flushed out of Michelle's face.

"Haha, says her boyfriend,"

"Shut up! She writes your songs much faster than any of you!" I snapped, and the laughing faces soon turned into glares.

"Your her boyfriend. Ask anyone off the street, and they'll disagree," one said, and came closer to me.

"You dirty whore," she said, and poked me in the chest.

"I'm not her boyfriend," I said, defensively.

"Then what are you? Her fiance?"

"Guys, stop," the one with platinum fluffy hair said. I looked up, and she was staring at the ground.

"Phoebe? What's up with you? Look at her boyfriend!"

"Just... stop, please," she said, and everyone looked confused.

"Everyone, just please stop harassing Michelle. That's all," I said, then left with more than a few question running through my head. Why did they all stop when Phoebe told them to? And what was up with Michelle? Huh, all I can say is that girls are very strange things.

**_-Ib- Age 14-_**

Sakura didn't even look me in the eye that day. I thought about apologizing, but I figured she would thank me later for talking to Satoru. At the end of the day she caught me as I was making my way to the courtyard.

"Where are you going?" she asked, and I brushed past her. I didn't quite want to talk to her now.

"Hey, Ib..." I kept walking, not looking back. Around the corner, and out the double doors into the court yard. The cool fall breeze blew my hair, and it felt rather warm outside. The weather wasn't bad, but what was going to happen was. I didn't know how mad he would be, or how much he would hurt me, but I didn't flinch. In the middle of the courtyard was a large statue, and Satoru was waiting there, his hands in his pockets. He was about a foot taller than the 5-foot-nothing me, but I shrugged it off. Sakura will thank me.

"Hey little girl," he said, and I put my bag down.

"Nice to meet you too Satoru," I said.

"What's your name?"

"Ib,"

"So listen Ib... You better shut up about Sakura. She's so annoying, just tell her to stop, and I'll spare you,"

"What?" I said in disbelief.

"Just tell her to stop, and I won't give you another black eye,"

"No. She can do whatever she wants to. Go ahead," I said, and he blinked.

"What? Maybe I'll just-" he said, putting his fist up.

"Go ahead, for all I care. I'm just a little girl, after all," Satoru paused, and looked at me in disbelief.

"You know how much this is going to hurt," he said, clutching his fist.

"I do know. But I don't care. Go ahead," I closed my eyes, embracing for impact, but nothing happened.

"Aren't you going to hit me?" I asked.

"Aren't you going to run?" he asked, and I shook my head.

"If hitting me makes you feel better, then do it. Just stop it with Sakura," I said. He stared at me for a while, but it felt like an eternity. Why didn't he just hit me? It was really awkward just standing there like that.

"What are you kids doing here?" A female voice said, and I opened my eyes to see a teacher with a hand on her hip. She eyes us both, and the color flushed out of my face. The question is, what did she think we were doing?

"I-" I started to say, but Satoru interrupted me.

"Nothing. I'm just about to leave," he said, and the teacher started to walk away. Then something really creepy happened. He stepped so close to me and leaned down, and I tried to back away, but he grabbed my shirt and pulled me so close to his face I could feel his breath. I was terrified. Was he going to beat me up now? I've never been so close to someone I didn't know, and it made me uncomfortable.

"This isn't over yet," he said, pushed me down. He then grabbed his back and walked away. I got to my feet, and watched him walk across the courtyard, then picked up my bag. I went back into the school building and called Mom.

* * *

**Starting to pick up the pace on chapters now that I'm not so busy! I'm so happy I have more time to write for you guys! I have a three-day weekend this weekend, so if I have enough motivation (REVIEWS) than the next chapter might come possible this Friday or Saturday... If you're ever wondering if I'm going to continue a story, or how it's doing or when the next chapter is coming out, check my profile for story statuses! As always, if you enjoyed remember to favorite/follow, and leaving a review guarantees the next chapter faster! **


	7. Chapter 3: Obliviosity

**"Yeah I'm walking on a tightrope, I'm wrapped up in vines. I think we'll make it out, but you just gotta give me time. Strike me down with lightning let me feel you in my veins. I wanna let you know how much I feel your pain." -Thunder, Boys like Girls.**

**_-Garry- Age 25-_**

_It hurts._

_Stop it._

_Garry dashed through the halls, his heart thumping, as well as his feet. He went at a good pace, and didn't dare look back. His raspy breathing just got faster when he thought about it. It was getting darker, and the slit of light at the end got smaller. _

_Faster._

_He kept on sprinting, but it felt the opening was just getting smaller as he ran. The lights were dimming as he ran, until the extent that he couldn't see anything but the tiny bit of light at the end. He kept going, but then the material under his feet felt like it was falling apart. Trying to stay high enough to see the light, he kept on running as the ground sunk lower and lower. His lungs felt as they were going to burst at any moment, they needed to consume so much air. Suddenly, he stumbled, and fell. As he sunk deeper and the light was no longer visible, he still couldn't breathe. Darkness surrounded him in the midst of everything, and silence remained. _

_Air._

_Sediment, something much like sand or gravel, fell on Garry's face. His throat instantly dried out, and he started coughing. _

_Water._

_When he couldn't take anymore, large amounts of sand or gravel like substances were poured onto his head. His body began to dissapear into the substance, and his throat was to dry to produce sound of any type. But it wouldn't stop pouring down, portion by portion. He gasped for air, as his head was the only thing remaining uncovered. As if on cue, more of it was poured onto his head, and into his mouth. _

_Petals._

_Garry felt something soft land on his head, but couldn't bring his hand up to touch it. Strangely, he could see the vivid blue petal in front of his face. Two more, then five more petals rained down, and he felt something fade inside of him. The vivid blue made him crunch up and break inside, and just looking at it hurt. They stopped raining when there were ten blue petals around him, and he closed his eyes. He didn't want to look at them anymore._

_Please, stop._

_More was poured onto his head, until he was buried. He couldn't breathe, and started to choke. His lungs were shriveling up inside, begging for air or relief of the pain. His heart beat started to slow as he felt a heavier pressure applied to the substance above him. _

I gasped for air as my eyes snapped open and I jerked awake. There was a good amount of hair in my mouth, which was somewhat disgusting, and there was a coat of sweat over the sheets. I threw them off, and found the light switch, and turned the lights on. The silent apartment was doing fine, and not covered in gravel. I took a few deep breaths, and finally calmed down.

But the dream- it was so realistic. I didn't want to go back to sleep after that, so I just sat by my desk and told myself it didn't really happen, but for some reason my brain refused to believe that.

Why was there...?

The question hung in my head, but I forgot what I was asking. I tried to grip the dream and what happened, but it slipped away. As much as I didn't want to remember, I wanted to think about what happened, but it no longer remained in my head. Hm, maybe it's a good thing that I forgot it. All I know is that something terrible happened... but I simply couldn't remember anymore.

**-_Ib- Age 14-_**

I walked down the hall, and turned the corner. Satoru was at the end of the hall, walking in my direction with other guys and girls by his side. I hesitated, and hoped I could just pass by him. I kept walking slowly, and I brushed past him. Just when I took a breath of relief, something happened.

"Uh, ah-!" I heard come from Satoru's mouth, and I tried to walk faster.

"What did I do?" someone said, and I turned around. Satoru had grabbed the collar of another guy, and was threatening him with his fist. Satoru flashed me a look for some reason, and I started to back away.

"Stop that!" Satoru started yelling, and I shook my head and walked up to him.

"Satoru, you need to stop. He didn't do anything!" I said, and Satoru pushed him down.

"What are you, his girlfriend or something?" he asked.

"No, but I can't help but feel bad for him," I said. He wore a surprised look on his face, and the guy he was threatening walked away quickly, and I put my hand on my hip. He rolled up his sleeve and flexed his large muscles.

"See this? I can do anything I want," he said.

"Why would you think I care? You need to stop bullying people who didn't do anything!" I snapped. He had a surprised expression on his face, and I walked away. Everyone who was by him was staring at me, but I didn't care. I walked down to my locker, and opened it. I unzipped my bag and shoved everything into the locker, and took whatever I needed out and stuffed it in my bag. I then closed it and walked to the library. Bunches of people were staring at me on the way there, and I could hear them whispering, but I didn't care. When I finally reached the library, I plopped down in a random seat and got my Chemistry homework out.

"Hey," Someone said when I was almost finished, and I looked up to see a guy with short black hair, only extending to his ears.

"Hello," I said, and looked back down at my homework and kept working.

"Um, I just wanted to thank you for saving my ass back there," he said.

"Woah," I said, not looking up. "No language when I'm around,"

"Oh, sorry," he said. "But I thank you. Just... how'd you do it?"

"Do what?"

"How did you stand up to Satoru? I might even be stronger than Satoru, but I still get nervous around him, especially when he talks to me. I've seen him beat up so many people, being around him doesn't make me feel safe,"

"Oh? When did you meet him?"

"The beginning of junior high,"

"Ah," I said, and looked up from my homework.

"I just wanted to know... how do you do that?" he asked, playing with his fingers.

"Do what?" I asked, looking back down.

"How did you stand up to him?"

"What do you mean? You guys just let him do that to you, why can't you stand up for yourselves? It's what I do," I explained.

"It's just... hard to do that," he said, looking down at the table.

"Well, Satoru's a jerk! Simple as that," I said.

"Haha, I can't say how true that is,"

"Well, you can't just let him do that," I said, and then there was a silence. I was beginning to wonder if he left, not looking away from my homework, when I heard him take a deep breath.

"You know, you're different. No other girl would say that. If he told a girl to do something, it's like she's his servant," he said.

"I don't know what other people do because I don't care to pay attention," I said, "I only see and hear what I want to,"

"Wow, I've never heard that before," he said, "I'm Kudoh,"

"Ib,"

"Ib?"

"Uh-huh,"

"Alright well, Ib, the periods almost over," he said, "And my next class is in the art wing. So, um, I'll see you later?" he said.

"I guess," I said with a shrug. I checked the clock, and the period was almost over. I finished up with Chemistry, and put the textbook to the side, and stapled the many papers together. Then I put it in my binder, and headed out of the library.

**_-Garry- Age 25-_**

"Well you only need the light when it's burning low

Only miss the sun when it starts to snow

Only know you love her when you let her go,"

"Hm, I like this song... what's it called?" I asked.

"Huh? Let Her Go by Passenger," Michelle said.

"Ah," I said, and chomped into another macaron. "You sure you're feeling better?"

"Yeah... they're finally treating me well,"

"Why so suddenly?"

"No idea, but I'm not going to question it,"

"Alright," I said, and looked out the window. Crimson leaves gently floated and hit the ground, and it was a perfect day to do whatever you wanted. I sipped my frappe, and listened to the music.

"Staring at the ceiling in the dark

Same old empty feeling in your heart

'Cause love comes slow and it goes so fast

Well you see her when you fall asleep

But never to touch and never to keep

'Cause you loved her too much

And you dived too deep,"

A heavy feeling in my chest came, and I took another drink.

"Oh yeah," Michelle said, and I turned to her.

"Huh?" I said.

"Phoebe asked me to bring you with me next rehearsal,"

"Why?"

"No idea. Naomi and Misa are actually being nice, and Phoebe doesn't talk much anymore," she said, and I thought about it. Weird.

_Garry couldn't see a thing. From the feel, he could tell there was a fabric tightly tied around his head. All there was to be seen was darkness. He tried to move his hands up, to take it off, but they were tied together, so tightly it felt as if it was cutting the circulation off on his wrists. He then tried to move his legs, but they were tied together just as tight. He tried to say something, to shout, to cry for help. But there was a sticky piece of duct tape over his mouth, and it extended to just under his ears. _

_Footsteps were heard around him, and they were pacing back and fourth. Back and fourth. Until they stopped. They started up once more, and stopped again. There was a sound of peeling, and loud breathing._

_Screams._

_Dreadful screams were heard, and Garry winced at the agony and pain within them. The screaming didn't stop. Every few moments, there would be a sharp inhale, followed by a scream. The sound of skin being pierced, blood being released, echoed throughout the room. Garry used every ounce of strength in his body to try to break the ropes tying his wrists together, but to no avail. He felt the urge in his chest to help the girl. Like he needed to help the girl. Like she was important to him. It felt like long years of cringing at the screams full of pain and misery, and tears were shed. Tears wet the fabric blocking his vision, and some escaped and streamed down the side of his face. The screams were followed by shallow breathing, and then choking. The choking lead to coughing, and spitting. It was all echoed through the room, and the tears wouldn't stop. Ragged breathing followed the coughing, and then there was a series of painful and forceful coughs, and after that the breathing subsided, and came to a stop. More footsteps, and they finally stopped. _

_Garry felt something lean over him, and touch his head. Maybe someone was letting him go? The duct tape was ripped off of his mouth, and he let in a few deep breaths. Someone felt at the side of his head, where the fabric was blocking his vision. They ripped that off, and the first thing Garry saw was yellow._

_Yellow hair spilling down her shoulders, and a green dress. But her wavy hair and green dress was dotted with blood. The girl threw the fabric to the side, and gave a smile. Her smile was so unnaturally large, and her eyes became so wide, her pupils looked extremely small. And when Garry least expected it, the metal of a pallette knife was stabbed into his left eye. He let out a scream, but the girl didn't stop. Dozens upon dozens of times, she stabbed his eye until it felt like it was dematerialized. In every heart beat, everything felt like it was being torn apart, and after every time he was stabbed, his heartbeat got faster, so it was never ending pain. Half of Garry's vision was red, and half saw the girls large smile. _

_"It's so mushy!" The girl exclaimed, "Can we dig it out?"_

_His soupy eye was scooped out of it's socket, and put to the side. She put her arm over her head, and the palette knife pierced his empty eye socket. He heard screams from everywhere, he heard screams echoing off the walls, until he realized something._

_They were coming from him. _

I screamed as I jolted awake from the disturbed slumber. I felt for my eyelid, and exhaled in relief when I felt my eye in there. That girls smile... was so wide, so unreal, so disturbing. I flicked the lights on, and I didn't feel like I was alone. I felt that... someone was watching me. Someone was going to murder me, right here, and now. The image of the girl's giant smile hung in my brain, and I couldn't do anything without being scared. The covers were all sweaty, but I didn't want to move from them. The lights remained on, but the curtains were closed on the window. Everything was perfectly normal. But it was so quiet. Eerily quiet. I didn't try to do it, it just happened automatically.

"You only need the light when it's burning low... only miss the sun when it starts to snow..." I sang quietly in a shaky voice. I noticed my whole body was shaking, and I just kept taking deep breaths.

_It's okay It's okay It's okay It's alright It's alright. _

"Only know you love her when you let her go... and you let her go..." I kept on singing, and it made me a bit calmer and steadied my breathing. I could hear my heart beating in my ears, and it eventually slowed down after what seemed like hours. I then turned over and closed my eyes, and the first thing I saw was the smile. How straight her teeth were, how small her pupils were, how wide her eyes were. I snapped my eyes open immediately, and kept on singing.

"Only need the light when it's burning low..." I wish I knew more of the song to sing. But those were the only two parts I knew. I didn't dare close my eyes and see her face. I was so terrified, I couldn't even look at the window. It went on all over again. I gave up on trying to sleep, and just stared at the ceiling, forcing my mind to think of happy things. Red roses, blue violets, yellow daisies. Red was the color of blood. I drove my mind away, but anything I tried to think about lead to something related to the smile. Blood. Yellow hair. Palette knife. Eyeball. My mind kept thinking of these things even though I told it countless times not to. It's night time, when murderers strike.

Why can't it be daytime?

How long is it until daytime, and I can see?

Macarons, cinnamon rolls, vanilla bean frappes, and delectable cakes. Food, sprinkles, ice cream. It didn't have anything to do with murder, did it? The white ice cream, like the large space surrounding her pupils. No... can't think about that. I shook my head, and kept singing.

"Only miss the sun when it starts to snow... only know you love her when you let her go," I whispered, my voice not wanting to make a full sound. In the dark, you can't see. In the dark, you don't know what's in front of you. In the dark, anything can happen, yet you're oblivious to it...

In the dark you can't see her smiling.

But she still is.

* * *

**This chapter was perfect for halloween. I got goosebumps writing it, because... I don't know. I kind of have a specialty for writing for the horror genre. Just imagine... that certain girl with the blonde hair, with a smile so big... Hope you don't see her in your dreams. :p Remember to favorite/follow if you enjoyed, and make sure to leave a review to tell me how I'm doing!**


	8. Chapter 4: Mindless

**"I'm at war with the world and they try to pull me into the dark. I struggle to find my faith as I'm slippin' from your arms," -Skillet, Awake and Alive. **

**_-Ib- Age 14-_**

It wasn't until lunch time I started to think about Sakura. Was she okay? I haven't even seen her on the bus for a few days now. I bought a small carton of apple juice, and sat down at an empty table. I stuck the straw into the opening at the top, and drank it slowly. I looked around for Sakura, but didn't see her around anywhere. Then I saw her buying a salad, and she exited the food court and came over to the tables. However, her eyes didn't meet mine, and she didn't come near my table. She started to begin talking with the other girl we saw at the library- I couldn't remember her name- and then sat down with her. Huh, maybe I should tell her I tried to solve it with Satoru.

I stood up where I was, and headed over, but then turned the other direction. It kind of seemed she had other friends. I went to the bathroom, and peeked out from there. She was smiling, occasionally laughing with the people sitting at her table. She was eating her salad casually, and her new friends were around her and talking to her. One was a girl with turquoise hair that went just past her chin, which was the one she turned to and talked to the most. I noticed I was standing in the bathroom and spying someone, so I left and found my table empty, my apple juice gone.

Great.

I couldn't help but look at how happy she was with her new group of friends, as I walked back. Not paying attention, I accidentally bumped into someone's chest, and took two quick steps back.

"Oh! I'm sorry," I said, and looked up to see Kudoh's dark hair, which looked almost blue for some reason.

"Oh, hi Ib," he said warmly. "Are you going to get something? Where are you sitting?" There was a plastic box with noodles in it that he was carrying.

"Uh, no. I was just leaving," I said quickly, and tried to brush by him, but he didn't let me.

"Did you eat?"

"Yeah," His facial expression changed, and he blinked.

"Oh," was all he said, and I walked past him and turned around the corner. I entered the quiet library, and sat down on a couch. I stared into space and hoped the period would be over soon.

_Huh, maybe Sakura doesn't want me anymore. But why should I care? _

_I was only trying to help her._

The library was quiet and empty, and I got up and looked at the many shelves of books scattered all about the library. I picked out a series of poems by Edgar Allen Poe and sat back down.

_"Alone_

_From childhood's hour I have not been_

_As others were; I have not seen_

_As others saw; I could not bring_

_My passions from a common spring."_

I flipped to a random page, and those words were printed in fine ink on the white paper. I touched the words with my fingertips, finding content in them.

_"From the same source I have not taken_

_My sorrow; I could not awaken_

_My heart to joy at the same tone;_

_And all I loved, I loved alone."_

I read diligently, and taking in and comprehending every one of the words on the paper.

"How did I know you'd be here?" I looked up, and wasn't surprised when I saw Kudoh making his way over. He sat on the couch adjacent to mine, and reclined.

"You tell me," I said. He gave a small smile, and put his hands behind his head.

"Whatcha reading?" he asked, and I lifted my book so he could see the cover.

"I see... you like reading?" I gave a small nod. Silence filled the library, but it wasn't that awkward.

"Do people ever make fun of your eyes?" I looked up at the question, and looked up. People would always point and whisper about my eyes, but it became a normal thing for me year after year. Honestly, I was surprised that Kudoh just asked me that now.

"Yeah... you going to join them soon?"

"Why would I do that? I would boast all day if I had eyes like yours," I blinked, surprised at the complement.

"Why would you do that?"

"Well, there's lots of stuff! I could actually look like a vampire at Halloween, I could stay home from school and say my eyes were bleeding... you see?" I shrugged, and didn't think my eyes were that amazing. There was another moment of silence, and my eyes went back down to the book I was reading.

"You don't talk much,"

"No, I'm just not the best at starting conversations,"

"Ah,"

This time the silence was more comfortable than awkward, as Kudoh shifted in his seat.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked.

"Sure, anything,"

"Do...you believe in fate?" I paused for a moment, then looked up from my book. Fate?

"Mm, fate?" I said, trying to think up an answer for that question.

"Yeah, like fate bringing two people back together after a while," I stared at the floor and thought about it, and my whole body started to feel muggy, and I could feel my heart sinking. Fate?

"Why do you ask?" I said, trying to avoid the question.

"Homework," he said, and I almost winced. Such a deep topic for homework?

"Homework?"

"Yeah, in history we're studying philosophy and we need to write a persuasive essay about believing or not believing fate,"

"Oh," I said, and I stared back at the ground, my heart felt as it was sinking deeper and deeper.

**_-Garry- Age 25-_ **

"Garry!" Michelle said, and I half smiled.

"What's up?"

"Our first album is coming out tomorrow!"

"That's great? Is everything going fine?"

"Yeah! Me and the band are going out for lunch to celebrate!"

"Oh, well have lots of fun,"

"Wait," she said, and there was a silence over the phone.

"What?" I asked.

"You should come," she said, and I could imagine her jumping up and down.

"Me? And a group of girls for lunch? I think not. I'll talk to you later Michelle," I said, and hung up. I took a deep breath, now knowing that my friend was alright, and sat down at my computer. I saw a new e-mail, and it was from Michelle. I clicked it, and smiled when I saw a file with their album on it. So I get it before anyone else does? I clicked download, an while it downloaded I went back to my word document. I'd been doing a list of writing prompts, however, none struck an idea for me. I looked at the next writing prompt, and got started.

"You found it and kept it, but now you regret it. Write about why,"

I finished in about 45 minutes, and on the document was a short story only about 2000 words long. I saved it and shut my laptop, then felt I needed some water. I went to the small fridge in my apartment that was messy with empty boxes and frozen food. I can't cook at all, so I kind of live off of frozen food. I grabbed a water bottle and sat back down at my laptop, and when I found myself quite bored, I decided to clean my closet.

I was a sanitary person, but I only did laundry when there was absolutely nothing to wear. I felt it was a waste of time. My closet was messy, as there were old jackets and pants on the floor, and the clothes I wore more often were hung up neatly. I picked up an old jacket and started hanging them up as I hummed a tune.

Under a jacket and two pairs of pants, was my old torn jacket I had gotten from my father. I smiled, and felt kind of sad I hadn't worn it in a while. It was a treasure to me, but it was getting even more torn than it had been, as it was a long jacket. I picked it up, and something fell off of it. I looked down, and saw a white piece of cloth on the floor. I grabbed a hanger and hung the jacket up then picked up the small cloth on the ground. It was soft, and there were two letters engraved in the corner: I and B. I looked at it, and wondered when I had gotten such a thing. Did someone give it to me? I searched my mind for anything, but there was no one who'd give me a handkerchief.

Kind of confused, I placed it on my desk and looked back to the closet. It was neat now, so I shut the door and sat back down at my desk. I inspected it, and It was a bit dusty, but I could tell that it was made of fine lace. Maybe it was a gift for someone I knew? But I didn't know anyone with the initials I.B. Or did I? I just can't remember.

**_-Ib-Age 14-_**

"Hey Ib, wait!" I turned around right before I walked out the door, and Kudoh ran up to me.

"Do you have somewhere to go?" he asked.

"No, not really,"

"Okay, there's this awesome cafe a few blocks away, and they have the best macarons ever!" he exclaimed.

"And you stopped me because...?"

"We should go!"

"When?"

"Now," he said, half smiling.

"I don't know if I can..." I said, pulling out my phone.

"Oh, that's fine," he said, and I stopped him.

"Wait, I can probably go," I said, and dialed my mom's number.

"Hey Mom. Is it okay if I'm getting something to eat from the cafe and I get home a bit late?"

"Uh huh..."

"Alright. Bye Mom,"

"Let's go," I said, and I opened the door. Kudoh followed me, and he was about to show me the way when I heard Satoru's voice.

"Where are you going?" he snapped, and I turned around.

"Why do you care?" Kudoh said, and the tone of Satoru's voice was pure annoyance.

"Where are you two going? A public bathroom?" he said, and Kudoh's face flushed a shade of scarlet.

"Well, why were you waiting for us?" Satoru blinked, and there was a moment of silence.

"I wasn't waiting for you! I was waiting for my other friend,"

"That pause tells me otherwise," I said, and he shuffled uncomfortably.

"I was- am waiting for my friend,"

"Then leave us alone and wait for your friend," I said, and continued walking, and Kudoh followed silently.

"What, are you guys hooked up?" Satoru said quietly, and I turned around.

"No. Are opposite genders aloud to be friends? Goodness!" I said, and rushed along the sidewalk, trying to get away from Satoru. Kudoh followed along, and I remembered he knew the way to the cafe. I looked back, and we were a good distance away.

"Lead the way," I said to him, and he walked in front of me.

"Ib, I could never do that," he said, and I shrugged.

"I don't understand why you can't stand up for yourself,"

"It's just... hard," he said. We kept on walking in silence until we came to a cross walk. When the light changed, we walked over and he opened the door for me to the small cafe.

"Thanks," I said, and entered. There were older teenagers mainly, and a few adults with children. We went to the back of the line and Kudoh started up yet another conversation.

"So, Ib... about fate," he said, and I turned to him.

"Fate," I said, taking a breath.

"I don't think it exists,"

"Why is that?"

"Dunno... it's just that fate..." he trailed off, and I moved up in line.

"I really don't know now that I think about it. I mean, what are the odds that two people would be reunited if they completely forgot each other, or were separated? I'm not quite sure that it's possible," he said, and my chest felt heavy. Such a deep topic, I had no comment.

"Next," the guy at the counter said, and I moved up.

"Uh, a plate of macarons, please," he said, and looked at me.

"Uhm..." I said, looking at the menu.

"A vanilla cupcake?" I said, picking the first thing that looked good.

"Alright. $5.12 please," he said, and Kudoh fished for his money. I took out a ten dollar bill and handed it to him, and Kudoh was about to speak, but didn't.

"Here's you change. Take a seat and we'll get that to you," he said, and I took the change, and we sat down at a nearby booth.

"Here, I owe you," he said, and gave me a five dollar bill. I shook my head.

"Nah, it's fine," I said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah,"

"Oh, well... thanks,"

"Here you are," a waitress came and placed a plate with four macarons on it in front of Kudoh, and a plate with a single cupcake on it in front of me. I took a bite of the cupcake, and a satisfying ice cream-vanilla taste filled my mouth.

"Good?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Told you," he said, and stuffed another macaron into his mouth. I finished up my cupcake pretty quickly, as I was pretty hungry, but Kudoh was done way before me.

"You eat pretty slow, will you hurry up?" he asked.

"Sorry," I said.

"Don't say sorry!" he said.

"But I'm sorry I eat slow,"

"Haha, that's fine! I don't care,"

"Then why did you say so?"

There was a silence between us as I finished up my food.

"You know what's different about you?" he asked.

"What?"

"You never express your opinion on anything," he said, putting his hands behind his head. Huh, I always said my opinion to myself, but never really out loud. So I guess I could say that was true. But there was a reason for it.

"Mostly because no one wants to hear it. Why say it if no one wants to hear it?" I said, and a look of remorse came on Kudoh's face. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it.

"Ib, that's not true. You friends and family want to hear you," he said, and I looked down at the empty plate of crumbs.

"Well, some people don't," I said.

"Ib, I've met so many people who express too much of their opinion. I've known Satoru and he's been through too many girls to count. This school is just the same as all the other ones. Lots of my old friend transfered schools this year, and I don't see them anymore. That's why I'm kind of lonely at school. There was my opinion. Your turn," he said. I looked up from my plate of crumbs, and eyed him carefully. He wanted to hear my opinion?

"You want to hear what I think?"

"Why not?" I thought about it for a moment, and just let it out.

"I've been friends with Sakura since fourth grade, but we're not friends anymore because of Satoru. I don't understand why people like him so much. There are so many other people out there, and Satoru is just the least of it,"

"There you go, that's a good start," he said, "Opinions can change the world. Have you heard of slavery in the U.S.? That was all because of someone's opinion. But it was fixed by justice,"

"Oh," was all I said. Sakura would always ask for my opinion, but I always felt comfortable telling her. But what about everyone else? Not really. What if they didn't like what they heard?

"I'll see you around, Ib," Kudoh said, getting up from his chair. I watched as he left the cafe, and I sat there, and stared back to the plate of crumbs.

**_-Garry- Age 25-_**

I looked in the fridge, and there was nothing that I wanted to eat. I threw empty boxes in the trash, and all there really was was water. I sighed, as I didn't really want to go to the grocery store to get anything, so I just got up and out the door and headed down the block. I smiled when the cafe came into view, and could almost taste the sweet taste of macarons. I might just lose all my money if I came here all the time.

I swung open the door to bump into a girl with a few books in hand. She stumbled and fell to her knees, and I quickly gathered up the books that surrounded her.

"I'm so sorry," I exclaimed, and helped her get to her feet. She looked up at me, and her eyes were a deep shade of crimson. She straightened her red skirt, and I handed her the books.

"Thank you," she said, her blood-red eyes examining my every feature. After a brief moment, she brushed past me, and I turned and watched her walk away as her brown hair swung the slightest bit back and forth. I shook my head, wondering why I turned around to watch her leave. I entered the cafe, the smell of sweet goods entering my nose, and got in line.

* * *

**Sorry this chapter was kind of late. So much stuff to be done! I won't abandon this story, though. Hopefully. If you enjoyed, please favorite and follow, and make sure to leave a review. If you review, that means it's more likely that I'll update faster. So leave lots of reviews! :D **


End file.
